Faltering Foundations
by shegotofftheplane
Summary: Her life was split into two: Before and After. She thought she had finally outran the Before, leaving her mistakes in the past. However, as she and her friends are unwillingly thrown into a new world and a dangerous quest, she is forced to face the past. At the end of the day, she can't avoid it. Takes place from the Lost Hero on. Completed 8/12/19
1. Jason Pulls the Worst Prank of All Time

Field trips for felonies. That's what Piper and Rosie had decided to call them.

Once a month, it seemed like the Wilderness School wanted to bring their students on some dumb, organized field trip, as if they remembered that they were, in fact, humans and not caged zoo animals. Shocking, right?

A pillow smacked Rosie right in her face. She groaned, blindly groping for the pillow to throw it back.

"Rise and shine," Piper said in an annoyingly sarcastic singsong voice. "It's our favorite day of the month!"

Rosie threw back the pillow in what she hoped was Piper's direction. "Sleep."

Rosie winced, burying her head under her pillow as Piper pulled up the blinds, letting in a stream of light. Her best friend-turned-roommate Piper McLean was a lot of things. Ernie to her Bert. Mickey Mouse to her Donald Duck. Ying to her Yang, yada, yada, all that mushy best friend stuff. With that came several huge differences between the two.

Rosie was hardly functional in the morning. One time, she accidentally poured orange juice into her cereal during finals week. Piper was a complete 180 from this; she was _productive._ Rosie often wondered why her best friend didn't have birds and woodland creatures helping her get ready in the morning.

"Not my fault _somebody insisted _on creating a list of ways to get out of this field trip at 3AM."

Her head buried under her pillow, Rosie held up one finger. "New one. Number 37," she mumbled. "I'm just too madly in love with Coach Hedge to show my face to him."

Piper laughed. "Oh gross! I just brushed my teeth, don't make me vomit,"

Rosie lifted her head up from under the pillow and grinned. "Good one, right?"

"No comment," Piper smirked. "Hurry up, we're gonna be late!"

They weren't late. Thanks to Piper's coaxing/threatening, they got to the meeting spot just on time. Throughout the crowd, they spotted one of their best friends, Leo Valdez. He was standing by himself, fiddling with what looked to be paper clips and pipe cleaners. Leo grinned as soon as he saw them.

"Ladies," he greeted. "Happy field trip for felonies day."

Yeah, Piper and Rosie had gotten Leo saying it too.

"Don't know about you guys, but I'm super ready to see some _rocks_," Rosie joked. Leo and Piper laughed.

"Leo, where's Jason?" Piper asked.

Jason was the final member of their little group of ragtag troubled kids. He hadn't been at the Wilderness school for too long, but after becoming Leo's roommate, he quickly became close with them. Piper quickly developed a crush on him, and recently, had finally gotten him to kiss her.

Leo shrugged. "Dunno. Might be in the bus already."

Rosie turned to Piper. "You want the window seat?"

Piper's face flushed. "I think I'll sit with Jason. I mean, if Leo isn't already..."

"Go ahead, Pipes." Leo hardly looked up from his hands.

"Oh. Yeah. That's fine!" Rosie quickly told her.

Ever since Jason and Piper had become a "thing", Rosie and Leo had spent more time away from them, mostly because they got the vibe Jason and Piper wanted to be alone and "coupley". Rosie didn't mind it; Leo was one of her best friends (she had known him longer than Piper) but sometimes she really needed girl time, and Piper would be hanging out with Jason.

Piper smiled at her, and bounded onto the bus. Coach Hedge, their fearless chaperone, popped his head out of the bus windows. How did his head even fit through that? Talk about defying the laws of nature.

"Valdez, Reiger, chop chop, cupcakes!" He growled at them from above.

"There's our cue," she told Leo.

Leo was looking at the bus and had his usual mischievous grin on his face.

"Look," He said. "He has his megaphone."

She grinned. "Well, now I'm really ready to go see some rocks."

She and Leo mercilessly tormented Coach Hedge. They constantly pulled pranks on him, usually just to pass the time. (There really wasn't much to do at the Wilderness school) Their latest project, which Leo called, "Moo, I am Your Father," involving hijacking Hedge's megaphone to sound like Darth Vader (her idea) and monotone sayings about cows (Leo's idea). The process of taking the megaphone and programming it had left Rosie with four bruises and Leo with two minor electrical burns, but was completely worth it.

The two of them found an empty seat in front of Jason and Piper. Jason was snoozing on a gleeful Piper's shoulder.

"Aw, Pipes, that could've been us," Rosie deadpanned, winking at her. She slid next to the window.

"Get a room!" Leo snickered.

To pass the time on the bus ride, Rosie and Leo played one of their favorite games: Nicknames Are A Clearly Better Naming System Decided By A Rosemary and A Leonidas (or the acronym: NAACBNSDBARAAL)

"Dylan." He nudged his head towards one of their least favorite people.

"Dill Pickle."

"Isabel."

She made a face. "Issa bore."

"Good one, Freckles. Piper."

"Piper Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, duh, next one, " She said gleefully. She would always annoy Piper with that one.

Jason and Piper's conversation floated over the seat.

"I...I'm not supposed to be here."

Rosie rolled her eyes and Leo stuffed a fist in his mouth to stifle some laughter.

Leo whipped his head over the top of the seat. "Good one, Jason! None of us belong here! I totally didn't run away six times. Piper totally didn't steal a BMW from that car dealership. And Rosie definitely didn't punch a parole officer."

_You punch a parole officer one time, _she thought. Leo was never going to let her forget that, was he? Rosie popped up next to him, peering down at Jason and Piper with a grin. "You're gonna fit right in. Everyone here is innocent, you know?"

Leo and Piper both cracked up, but Jason stared at her blankly. She was quoting _Shawshank Redemption_, a movie about prison that the four of them had watched together last week. The four of them had been quoting the movie like crazy, since they related to it _way too much. _Wilderness was basically a prison. (And that's saying a lot, since she _had_ been to prison before).

"I didn't steal that car, Leo!" Piper argued. She gave Rosie a pleading look, but to Rosie, the Piper stealing a BMW event still remained a mystery much debated about.

"Right! My bad! You just talked him into giving it to you." Leo placed air quotes around the word talked.

"Who...who are you guys?" Jason asked.

"Oh, well, I'm Rosie," Leo quickly jumped in. Rosie gave him a lighthearted shove.

"Guess that makes me Leo Valdez," she teased. "Your second best friend, since Rosie is _obviously _your greatest and closest friend." She smirked at Leo, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Hey!" Leo protested.

"Valdez! Reiger!" Coach Hedge barked. "Something wrong?"

"Showtime," Leo whispered to her. He turned around and faced Coach. "Sorry, Coach, I can't hear you! The megaphone would be appreciated!" He settled back into their seat with a grin.

"Watch," she said quickly to Jason and Piper, turning back and settling next to Leo.

Coach Hedge whipped out his megaphone in attempts to yell at Rosie and Leo. However, every time he tried to, his voice would come out like Darth Vader's. He stopped and glared at them, as the bus dissolved into giggles. He picked up the megaphone again, which then blared: THE COW SAYS MOO.

"You two!" He yelled, angrily wiggling a finger at them.

Rosie and Leo exchanged a high-five. They popped their heads back over the seat, both wearing an identical grin.

"You guys are nuts," Piper laughed, shaking her head.

"Coach really loves us," Rosie said, beaming.

"How did you even do that?"

Leo winked at Piper. "I'm a special boy, Pipes," he said, showing her the Phillips screwdriver peeking out of his coat sleeve. "With a pretty good lookout."

Rosie shrugged modestly, her signature smirk on her face.

"I'm sorry-" Jason cut in. "What's going on? Where are we going?"

Piper frowned, concern in her eyes. "Wait, are you serious? This isn't a joke?"

Leo scoffed. "No way is he serious, he's just getting back for the shaving cream on Jello thing that Rosie-" Leo faltered when he saw her expression: a worried face gone pale. "I mean..."

Rosie had recently pranked Jason by putting shaving cream on his jello. At the time, she had been upset that he was spending so much time with Piper. However, Jason automatically assumed Leo was the one to do it, so Leo took the blame for her. She still worried he would find out and ream her out for it.

"You really don't know us?" Piper sounded devastated.

Rosie narrowed her eyes at Jason. In the three months she had known him, she hadn't pegged him as the prankster. At least, not to the extent she and Leo were. She couldn't say that they would be above pretending to have amnesia. Then again, three months wasn't that long.

"No!" Jason exclaimed. "I don't-I can't-"

"That's it!" Coach Hedge exploded. "You four back there are cleaning up after lunch!"

Rosie groaned as the bus cheered. Leo made a gagging motion. Piper and Jason

didn't seem to care.

"You really don't know us..." Piper sounded slightly dumbfounded.

"Not just that," Jason muttered. "I don't know myself."


	2. Welcome to the Twilight Zone

The bus dropped the animals (sorry, _students_) in front of the Grand Canyon museum.

Leo draped his arm around Jason, steering him towards the museum's door. "Alright, dude, here's Leo Valdez's Guide to Surviving the School of Wilderness….."

Piper turned to Rosie. "I'm worried about Jason. And partially about Leo talking to him right now. "

Rosie shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe Leo's trying to get rid of Jason, a la Chester." Chester was Leo's roommate before Jason, and to this day, they still didn't know what happened to him. At this point, it was a great, convoluted conspiracy theory.

Piper looked like she was about to tear her hair out. "Rosie!" she exclaimed, aggravated.

"Okay! Okay! Sorry!" She said, holding her hands up in surrender. "Maybe he bumped his head or something? God, who knows what goes on in their room…"

Piper nervously tugged her hair, as Rosie overheard Leo go, "Capiche? You remember everything, now, right?"

"No," Jason shook his head. "I don't."

Leo gave him an exasperated face. "Dude, overplayed joke. Okay, well, we have all been friends for about three months now ...you obey my every word and do what I say and my laundry and oh! You give me your dessert too-"

Rosie and Piper groaned in unison, "Leo!"

"Okay, okay, I take it back! But we are friends- I didn't lie about that. Well, on second thought, you and Piper are more than friends, if you get what I'm saying-"

Piper's face flushed red as she hissed, "Stop!"

Rosie was starting to get worried about Jason. He did seem to be acting a bit jumpy and strange. He was normally the most put together of the group.

"Well," Rosie said. "Maybe we should tell someone about Jason."

Leo scoffed, "Who, Coach Hedge? He'll probably just flip him upside down and slap him."

"Okay," Rosie shot back. "You got a better plan?"

"I'm just saying, I don't get the problem here, we could have fun with this!"

Rosie scowled. She and Leo were as tight as they come, but when they got annoyed with each other, it was pretty ugly. "You're going to hell, you know that?"

Leo grinned. "I guess I'll see you there-"

"You guys!" Piper exclaimed, a confused-looking Jason behind her shoulder. "Can we please focus? Jason has a concussion or something-"

Someone pushed their way in between Rosie and Leo, causing Leo to fall over. Rosie gagged as she was overwhelmed with the smell of Axe cologne. There's only one person that scent could belong to: Dylan. She hated that guy. He was one of the many who made life a living hell for her friends. He constantly made fun of Leo for his height (something Piper and Rosie reserved the right to do) and hit on both Rosie and Piper 24/7.

"Yo, Piper." Piper shifted instinctively closer to Jason, her face souring. "You gotta stop spending time with these fools. We're partners, remember?"

Rosie could've sworn she heard her best friend growl. "Go away, Dylan. I don't want to work with you."

Dylan waved her off. "Nah, you don't mean that, come on. See ya, Reiger." He gave Rosie a wink as he linked arms with Piper, heading inside the museum. For a gleeful second, she imagined flinging Dylan into the Grand Canyon, and having her vomit hit him from thousands of feet away.

She lent Leo her hand, Leo angrily grumbling as he brushed himself off. "I really hate that guy ...I'm Dylan! I'm so cool! I can't date myself so I guess I'll settle for you, ha ha!"

"You're kinda weird, Leo," Jason finally spoke up.

Rosie let out a laugh as Leo grinned. "You picked that up pretty quickly, amnesiac," she told him as the three of them went into the museum.

"Yeah, you tell me that a lot," Leo agreed. "The best part about this? You're not gonna remember any of our jokes!"

The exhibits seemed interesting enough, but she wasn't really able to read them. Coach Hedge lectured them occasionally on an exhibit, but it was hard to take him seriously whenever he mooed. It didn't help that Leo had used both of their worksheets for the trip the other day for spit balls.

Rosie noticed Jason glaring at something; she followed his gaze to Isabel and her crew of minions, who were whispering and snickering at Piper. Rosie groaned under her breath. At their school, it felt like Piper and Rosie were the outcasts of the girls.

"Hey, Piper," Isabel said in a fake sweet voice. "Are you gonna pull out a rain dance? I'm sure the tribe would appreciate it."

The group of makeup clad minions dissolved in giggles, and Rosie felt a flash of anger. She secretly hoped her best friend would punch one of them. Rosie would cheer her on, and ice her fist afterwards.

"My dad's Cherokee," Piper shot back. "Not Hualapai. I guess those few missing brain cells do make a difference."

That was a good one; she made a mental note to high-five her friend for that later.

Isabel widened her eyes in mock surprise. "Right, my bad. Your mom was in this tribe, right? No, wait, you didn't know your mom,"

Piper charged her, but not before Hedge barked at them with his megaphone. Man, Hedge! He could've let it happen this one time. Rosie knew Piper would've pulverized them.

The comments continued.

"She's psyched to be among her people," Sara giggled.

"I hear her dad's a drunk," Gabi offered so unhelpfully. "That's why she's here for being a klepto."

Rosie hated them. She hated their comments. As much as she wanted to defend her friend, she knew she couldn't. Her best friend could hold her own.

She spotted Jason looking tense and ready to unleash some fury. He must be new around here. He caught her eye and Rosie shook her head.

"Don't do it," she warned him. "It sucks, but Pipes fights her own battles." She exhaled with frustration. "If they knew her dad…."

Leo looked up from fiddling with some bolts and nuts. "I know, right? They'd be all like 'we are not worthy'!"

Rosie nodded in agreement. She and Leo fiercely mimed bowing down to each other, fanning each other with their arms.

"Um? Who's her dad?" Jason asked.

Rosie and Leo exchanged incredulous looks. Was he serious?

"You're not serious." Rosie said to him. "Tell us you're kidding."

Leo laughed in disbelief. "Dude, I can't believe you don't remember your girlfriend's dad-"

Piper's dad was the famous actor Tristan McLean. Piper really didn't willingly tell anyone about him. In fact, before Jason came to the school, Rosie and Leo found out about her father _accidentally_. They had rented one of his famous movies, _King of Sparta, _as a joke for Piper's birthday. Let's just say it wasn't pretty, and Piper nearly decapitated them with her desk lamp.

"I don't even remember her," Jason said tiredly. "Let alone her dad. I wish I did, but…"

Leo waved him off. "Yeah, whatever. We got a lot to catch up on when we get back to the dorms."

"Alright!" Coach Hedge announced. "We're about to enter the skywalk to see the Grand Canyon. No pushing each other over the edge ...the paperwork is a headache."

She turned to Leo. "Promise to push me over?"

"Only if you return the favor," he winked. She gave him a thumbs-up.

She was blown away by the Canyon. Sure, she had seen it in pictures...but the canyon in real life was a thousand times better. It made her feel so small.

"Wicked," Leo muttered under his breath.

Rosie had to agree. "I take back what I said," she said. "Rocks are pretty cool."

Jason grimaced, and maybe it was just the lighting, but he looked sick.

"Uh, you good?" Leo asked him. "Are you gonna vomit? Man, should've brought my camera."

"Ew, you're all sweaty," Rosie pointed out to him.

Jason grabbed at the railing of the skywalk, wincing in pain. "I'm okay...just a headache."

It didn't look like a headache, but she decided not to say anything else. She shivered, pulling her ski coat closer to her body and noticed the dark, slightly ominous clouds overhead.

She wasn't the only one to notice. Leo frowned at the clouds. "Is it just me, or is it kinda weird that the storm is only over us?"

He was right. The clouds over the skywalk were dark gray and rumbling, while further out was super clear. It made her a little nervous; storms always did.

Jason went pale. "That's not right..."

"Listen up, cupcakes!" Hedge gestured to the storm brewing overhead. "We may need to hurry this up, so chop chop!"

Out of the corner of her eye, a flash of gold caught her attention. Jason was holding some sort of golden coin, peering at it intently. Leo and Rosie both gaped at each other. They both looked at each other like: _What the heck? Is Jason involved in a Ponzi scheme? Pyramid scheme? Some other scheme that starts with p?_

"Is that _gold_?" Leo exclaimed. "Dude, you watched me reuse a piece of floss the other day." Turns out they really needed to brush up (no pun intended) on their Jason knowledge.

Jason's face reddened, and he quickly shoved the coin back into his pocket. "It's just a coin," he muttered defensively.

"Okayyy," Leo said, rolling his eyes at Rosie. "Let's go spit over the edge, then."

The three of them weren't the most driven people. Their worksheet remained blank, as Leo built a pipe cleaner helicopter and Rosie was much more interested in making funny faces at poor Piper stuck with Dylan across the skywalk. Jason occasionally glanced at the worksheet, but he didn't seem to know any of the answers.

Leo nudged her and Jason. "Watch." He launched the helicopter into the void of the canyon, where it flew for a few seconds before plummeting. Rosie gave him a thumbs-up. Leo was always making things, and she had to admit, most of them were pretty cool. Well, when they worked.

Jason looked shocked-weird, since if anyone knew about Leo's inventor side, it would be his roommate. "How-how did you do that?"

Leo wasn't too impressed with it. He scratched at one of his fingernails and shrugged. "Would've been cooler with some rubber bands."

"So, you two are really my friends?" Jason asked, sounding slightly disbelieved. Rosie tried not to be too offended at his tone.

"_Si_," Leo said.

"Best friends, but apparently that doesn't translate well in amnesia…" Rosie muttered under her breath.

"Okay," Jason said. "How did we meet then?"

"Um," Leo said. "We're roommates."

"I know, but, what was our first conversation? How did we become friends? What-"

"Whoa, Whoa, dude," Leo laughed nervously and held up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm ADHD, I've got a doctor's note, I don't exactly remember stuff like that…." He shot Rosie an SOS look.

Jason whipped his head around to Rosie, who failed at pretending to be very interested in the ground. "And you? How'd we meet?"

The weird thing was….she didn't remember. She knew how she met Leo and later Piper, but with Jason ...the memory was fuzzy. Like one of those really old television sets with the antennae, the ones that would sometimes make the picture fuzzy and incomplete. Was it in gym class? In Leo's room?

"Um." Her mind went blank, and she quickly tried to regain her footing. "It was totally a Monday."

"She made that up!" Leo protested.

"It could've been a Monday," she argued through gritted teeth.

"See?" Jason exclaimed. "You guys don't even know me."

Rosie snorted. "Yeah, okay. We definitely don't know the friend we've hung out with since September."

Jason distractedly handed Leo his worksheet. "I'll be right back," he muttered, walking over to where Coach Hedge was standing.

Rosie turned to Leo dramatically. "Welcome to the Twilight Zone," she said in a dark, low voice.

Leo shrugged flatly. "That, or he really wanted us to do the worksheet."

Rosie frowned. "We just got played."

"Yup." He handed her the worksheet. "Have fun with that, Freckles."

She made a face. "No way. You owe me from last time."

"_Con permiso_?"

"I finished your pan in ceramics last week," she reminded him, inwardly cursing at the stupidity of the courses they took at the Wilderness School.

"Well," he stubbornly argued back. "I did your geometry homework yesterday. _And_, I charm you with my good looks everyday. That counts for a lot."

She wasn't ready to give up. "I didn't tell Jason that you stole his under armor socks from his laundry."

"Well, I don't think _socks_ are his priority, right now," he said sarcastically.

She let out a frustrated groan. "The stupid worksheet is controlling us," she yelled dramatically. "I got a better idea."

Better idea: paper airplane. She threw it over the ledge, where it quickly plummeted to join Leo's helicopter. The two of them then challenged each other to see who could dangle more of their upper body over the ledge. The wind picked up, smacking her hair into her face. She should've tied it back, maybe Piper had a scrunchie she could borrow-

The sky lit up with a fierce bolt of lighting. Rosie jerked back in surprise. Kids screamed, and Rosie spotted Coach Hedge and his megaphone. He screamed, "GET OFF THE SKYWALK! THE COO SAYS MOO! HURRY UP!"

"Twilight zone!" She yelled over the wind to Leo as he nearly toppled over the edge. She quickly grabbed the back of his army jacket, pulling him back.

"Thanks!"

"Come on!" she shouted.

Coach and Jason came up behind them, and the four of them ran towards the door, where Piper and Dylan were ushering the kids in. The powerful surge of wind made it feel like her muscles were trying to swim through Jello. She was really starting to regret tampering with Jason's Jello.


	3. Horses, Hooves, and other Hallucinations

As Piper and Dylan pushed another kid inside, the doors seemed to slip out of their grips. They slammed shut, blocking their exit.

"Dylan!" Piper pulled at the door fiercely. "Help me open this!"

Dylan just stood there with his patent stupid grin. "Sorry, Piper, no can do,"

With one flick of his wrist, Rosie watched her best friend slam into the glass doors, as if lifted by an invisible force. Rosie stifled a scream- was this really happening?

While this froze Rosie in place, Jason jumped into action.

"Piper!" He yelled, trying to charge forward.

Coach Hedge blocked him. "Don't!" He warned. "You three, stay behind me. I had a feeling Dylan was our monster." He grumbled angrily.

That couldn't be right. "I'm sorry-" she screamed over the wind. "Did you say _monster_?!"

Coach's baseball cap flew off, smacking Rosie right in the face. She swatted it away, only to hear Leo exclaim, "Coach, are those horns?!"

Sure enough, Rosie spotted two bumps on top of Coach's head. Now, that really couldn't be right. Coach lifted up his prized baseball bat, only for Rosie to realize in a shock it had transformed into a branch.

"Seriously, you see them, right?" Leo asked her.

Dylan sneered at them. "You're losing your touching, old man," he said to Hedge.

"You're going down, cupcake," Coach Hedge grumbled.

Dylan laughed. "Good luck protecting all of these half-bloods, Coach."

Dylan pointed at Leo, and Leo yelped as he was yanked off the skywalk by a tornado of wind. Rosie screamed, and was knocked onto her butt by the force of the tornado. She watched as Leo twisted his body, just barely grabbing a ledge about fifty feet below the skywalk.

"Are you okay?" She yelled. Turns out in crisis she asked really stupid questions.

"I've been better, Freckles!" He called back. "Help, please!"

She stood up, not quite sure how she would help him. Turns out she didn't need to worry about it.

"Rosie, no!" Coach yelled, but he was too late. Rosie remembered too late that Dylan apparently had magical wind powers. Dylan gave her a terrifying smile, and snapped his fingers. Rosie's feet were pulled out from underneath her, and she fell on her stomach, yelling as she was dragged by her ankles by an invisible force-_fast._ She ended up near Piper, who was slightly stirring.

"Pipes?" Rosie placed a hand on her shoulder. "Piper, are you good?"

Piper's eyes widened and she looked slightly dazed. "Please tell me you see Coach Hedge's hooves too."

"_Hooves_?"

Coach Hedge was standing with Jason, and sure enough- where his feet were supposed to be, there were _hooves_. Rosie watched as he handed Jason his branch and started galloping towards the ledge, probably to get Leo.

"All this time," Rosie hissed. "he was a _goat_?"

Piper hushed her. "Close your eyes," she commanded. "Pretend to be unconscious."

Rosie quickly shut her eyes, and went limp next to her friend. Something brushed her hand, and she cracked her eyes open a peek to find Coach's branch right next to them. She discreetly wrapped her fingers around the branch.

Dylan was on the ground. She saw Dylan bleeding-no, wait, blood wasn't golden. Dylan rose, laughing at Jason.

"You're going to have to do better than that," He jeered.

That's when things got really weird. Dylan dissolved into smoke, retaining his perma-white smile but ...turning into a cloud? She felt her jaw drop as she saw him become a cloud of black vapor, electrical sparks where his eyes should've been. He sprouted wings and rose above the skywalk.

"A venti," Jason said, looking surprised at himself for saying that. "You're a venti. A storm spirit."

Rosie turned to Piper. "Did Jason just call him a Starbucks drink?"

Dylan smiled at Jason. "I'm glad I waited for you, demigod. I've known about Leo, Piper, and Rosie for weeks-could've killed them anytime, but she said I should wait for you."

Piper did a double take. Rosie paused and lifted her head off the ground. "Hold up, what?"

"Rosie!" Piper pointed, and Rosie saw two more of the storm things form next to Dylan. From the looks of it, they were coming for them- and they didn't look happy.

"Get up, get up!" Rosie urged her best friend up, clutching Hedge's branch.

"What do we do?!" Piper yelled.

Dylan gestured his hand towards Jason. Bolts of electricity directly smacked Jason's chest, sending him back fifteen feet. Rosie gasped, froze, and struggled to hold up a screaming Piper.

_Be okay, Jason. Be okay._

Coach Hedge was finally climbing back up the cliff, a shaking but otherwise okay Leo on his back. They both stared in shock at Jason on the ground.

Meanwhile, Rosie and Piper were stuck in the World's Worst Game of Hot Potato. The storm spirits quickly distracted them from Jason, and Rosie panicked.

"Wait, I don't want this!" Rosie quickly threw Coach's branch to Piper.

Piper caught it with a yelp, and quickly threw it back with an equally frightened look on her face. "Ahh, neither do I!"

Man, maybe the wilderness school should've been teaching them self-defense. Rosie tossed it back, the storm spirits getting closer to them. "No backsies!"

"Backsies denied!" Piper caught it and passed it back to her.

The storm spirits menacingly came toward them with a smile.

"Duck!" Rosie swung wildly as Piper quickly ducked out of the way.

She waited for the satisfying crunch of the branch connecting, but yelped in surprise instead when the branch passed right through their cloud like bodies. She almost accidentally decapitated herself.

She exchanged fearful looks with Piper. What were they supposed to do now?

"Stop it," somebody croaked. Rosie and Piper turned to see Jason uneasily rise from the ground. How was that possible? A second ago, Jason was toast. Literally.

"You should be dead!" Dylan sounded outraged. "The electricity-"

Jason reached into his pocket, and took out the same golden coin Rosie and Leo saw him fiddling with before. He flipped it into the air, catching it and having it suddenly turn into...a sword.

The two spirits forgot about Piper and Rosie and steered towards Jason. The two of them watched in shock as Jason swung his blade at them. He was good ...who even was this kid? He totally could've been the instructor for the self-defense class she was imagining: _Alright, kids, today's lesson: Fighting storm ghosts! _As the second storm spirit let out a stream of electricity, his blade seemed to absorb it. He thrust his weapon into the spirit. The spirit wailed, dissolving into golden dust.

Rosie dropped the club, and saw her best friend's jaw drop. She noticed Piper clenching her fists. Coach Hedge jumped back onto the skywalk, dumping Leo with a thud.

"Ow," Leo muttered weakly.

Coach let out a guttural scream. "Come at me spirits!" He looked around in confusion as he realized only Dylan was left. He gave Jason an annoyed look. "You couldn't have left one? Really? I like having fun,"

Leo got up, his hands bleeding and struggling to catch his breath. "Coach, no offense, next time you wanna have fun don't invite me!"

"Fair enough, cupcake,"

Dylan growled. "My mistress will destroy you all. She is coming. You will lose this war and die." Charming.

The sky then seem to explode. She felt sheets of freezing rain, and she had to brace herself against the wind. A vortex appeared in the sky, sucking things with it.

Dylan sneered. "That's my cue to go," he said. "But you're coming with me, demigod!"

It all happened so quickly. Piper jumped forward, tackling Dylan from behind. The two of them went sprawling away. Jason, Rosie, Leo, and the Coach started forward to help, but not before Dylan ...exploded with rage. He unleashed a stream of hot water, one that knocked the four of them back. Leo somersaulted as Jason and Coach landed on their butts. Rosie was knocked back, and hit her head as she was trying to gain balance. She winced in pain on the ground, feeling slightly dazed. Through the cracked slits of her eyes she saw Piper holding onto the railing for dear life.

"This one will do," she heard Dylan scream, and she felt a hand grasp her ankle. Rosie couldn't move, couldn't argue, couldn't say _Stop_….she felt like she was on the verge of passing out. Like, actually passing out, not like all the times she claimed to Coach that she was on the verge of passing out after suicides.

"Hey, cloudface!" Was that Leo? "Let her go!"

_Dill pickle_, she wanted to say. _Use the name dill pickle!_

"Help!" She heard Piper scream.

"Jason, get Piper!" Coach snapped.

Rosie suddenly heard a sharp sound. Dylan yelped in pain, and she felt herself falling. Rosie landed hard on the ground with a groan, as she heard Coach yell, "Save her! I'll take care of this one!"

Rosie felt someone place a hand under her head. "Freckles!" Leo. "Wake up. Are you alright?"

She opened her eyes slightly, seeing Leo above her. "Can't ...stand...Dylan," she muttered.

Leo nodded. "I really hate that kid. Can you sit up? Oh gross, you have monster goop in your hair,"

He was right. She dragged her hand through her brown hair, only to find that golden dust that Jason had caused to happen when he slashed that spirit.

"I literally just washed my hair," she complained, groaning.

With the help of her friend, she propped herself up partially. She didn't see anyone, other than Leo. Groaning, she asked, "Where...where is everyone?"

"Um." He said, staring at something behind her. "I think I'm hallucinating. Are we all having a mass hallucination?"

"Why?" She asked fearfully. "God, what now?"

"Our friend is flying." Leo placed his unusually warm hands on Rosie's face and moved it to the side, where Jason and Piper were shooting up into the air.

"Strangely not the weirdest thing that happened today," she said in fascination.

The two of them landed, and ran over to where Rosie and Leo were.

"Where's Coach?" Piper asked. She hardly seemed fazed that her boyfriend could fly.

Rosie looked at Leo, who pointed upward. "He kicked Dylan in the face- which was _awesome_, by the way- and then they went up and never came down."

Rosie couldn't believe that Coach- Coach, who usually got annoyed with her and ordered her to do fifty push ups- saved her life.

"Uh," Piper shivered. "So. Jason. Those storm thingys-" Maybe it was time to address the elephant in the room.

"Venti," he corrected.

"Sure, Yeah. Those things." Piper sounded nervous. "How exactly did you know them? Who...who are you?" The million dollar question.

"I'm not sure." Jason frowned.

Rosie noticed something moving in the sky. No, it couldn't be…

"Coach did say he had to protect four people," Jason continued. "The four of us, I'm assuming…."

"Protect us?" Leo asked. "Protect us from what?"

"Guys…." She muttered faintly. The objects- no, animals- were getting closer.

"Is it the thing he called us?" Piper asked. "Demigods or whatever?"

"I'm not feeling too godly," Leo muttered. "Maybe on any other day, but-"

The cracks beneath them were widening.

"We should move," Jason said. "This is un-"

"Guys-" she interrupted. "Please tell me I'm not imagining those flying horses."

Leo laughed at her. "Somebody's hit her head a little too-" he broke off as a dark shape descended towards them.

A pair of winged animals were pulling a chariot towards them. She vaguely saw two people in the chariot.

"They're an extraction crew," Jason said. "Coach mentioned something…"

"I don't like the sound of that," Leo muttered nervously.

Rosie pictured herself in a dentist's chair, getting a tooth painfully extracted.

"Where, exactly, are they extracting us to?" Piper asked nervously. She placed a hand on Rosie's shoulder.

The two people in the chariot became clearer as the chariot approached. They both wore orange t-shirts, with shields on their back. One of them was a burly football player-looking guy. The other was a blonde teenage girl, not too older than them, who was scowling at them. She hopped out of the chariot while it was still moving, and ran towards the four of them with a knife, her gray eyes glinting murderously.

"Um, guys," Leo said. "Scary blonde girl, ten o'clock,"

"Where is he?" She demanded, brandishing her knife. A little yelp of fear came out of Rosie and Leo. Piper turned pale. What was it about today with all the physical threats?

"Um. Who?" Jason asked nervously.

The blonde girl looked over at Piper, Leo, and Rosie. "And you three...where is Gleeson?"

They exchanged confused looks. "Uh, Gleeson?" Rosie asked the girl.

The girl looked frustrated, like they didn't have time for this. "Your protector, Gleeson Hedge?"

Rosie exchanged a look with Leo. Coach's name was _Gleeson_? The two of them both looked like they suddenly were mourning all the missed joke opportunities.

The girl cleared her throat impatiently, bringing Leo and Rosie back to focus.

"Right," Leo said. "Um, some storm things took him. Away. Up, if we really want to be specific."

"Venti," Jason corrected.

The blonde girl gave Jason a look. "Uh, you mean _anemoi thuellai_? What exactly happened here?"

Jason told the story, and as he did, Rosie could tell the girl was getting more and more frustrated. The other guy in the chariot, the really buff dude, came over during it. She noticed a rainbow tattoo on his bicep- not what she would've thought would be that guy's first choice for a tattoo, but since his bicep was bigger than her head she decided it didn't really mattered; rainbow tattoos for everyone!

As soon as Jason finished the story, the girl let out a frustrated yell. "No! That's not possible, she told me he'd be here!" She kept waving her knife angrily, making Rosie exponentially more and more worried. One bad move, and they'd all be shish-kebab.

"Annabeth," The gruff guy interrupted. "Look. One shoe."

Jason's left shoe was missing, probably from the strike of lighting.

"No, Butch," Annabeth said. "That's not-no. She tricked me." She glared at the sky angrily. "What do you want from me?! You stupid-"

Rosie really wanted to ask why she was so mad about a missing shoe.

"Annabeth," Butch said. "We gotta get out of here and get these four to camp."

Annabeth huffed. "Fine. Whatever." She angrily marched back towards the chariot.

"What's her problem?" Piper asked.

"Seriously," Leo agreed.

"You cannot expect us to go anywhere with her," Rosie said to Butch.

"I'm definitely not going anywhere with her," Jason said. "Did you see the way she looked at me?"

Rosie imagined Annabeth pitching Jason off the chariot.

Butch sighed "Sorry about her. It's just...she's going through a lot. She was told to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. You, however …" He grimaced. "Not the guy she was looking for."

"Meaning?" Piper asked.

Butch hesitated, as if he shouldn't be telling them anything. "One of our campers went missing three days ago. Annabeth's been crazy looking for him. We thought...we thought he would be here."

"Who?" Jason asked.

"Her boyfriend," Butch said. "Percy Jackson."


	4. This is Probably a Cult

An uncomfortable tingle grew in Rosie's stomach. Why did that name make her feel that way? There's no way she knew that name. And yet...she thought of the dream she had a week ago. That boy in it, that voice ...Rosie felt a chill pass through her body. Piper gave her a concerned look, and Rosie quickly gave her a small smile: _All of this is completely normal! _Her friend also had an uneasy look on her face.

"We should head out," Butch said, gesturing to the chariot.

Leo helped her up, and the four of them walked towards the chariot. The Pegasi ninnied at Rosie, and Rosie quickly avoided eye contact with them, staring instead at her converses.

"Huh, they like you," Butch told her as the four of them climbed in the back.

"Don't know why," she quickly said with a nervous laugh. "I'm not a horse person."

"I think they can smell fear, quick, stand closer," Leo grinned, giving her a light shove.

Piper raised her eyebrows at her. "Is this about that horse movie? _Spirit?"_ She sighed. "I knew we never should've let you watch that."

"She totally bawled," Leo whispered oh-so-loudly to Butch.

"Horse movies are sad, okay?" She shot back. "I'm just...not a horse person. Winged or unwinged."

Butch shrugged, handling the reins of the chariot. With a flick, they suddenly ascended into the air. She felt her heart drop into her stomach, and she clutched the side of the chariot. Rosie felt sick. She was also questioning the trusting-ness of her friends...none of them seemed too concerned that they were heading off with two complete strangers with weapons.

Leo bounced excitedly next to her- that made sense: out of the four of them, Leo was definitely the most likely to shrug off the weirdness and just be excited. He was probably thinking, _Score, no history test later! _"This is awesome!" He spit out a Pegasus feather. "Where are we going, though?"

"Somewhere safe," Annabeth spoke up. "For kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

She noticed Piper's face hardened. "Half-blood?" She knew Piper had been called that way too many times by their evil classmates.

"Demigods," Jason offered. "Half god, half mortal." Rosie raised her eyebrows at him, and he shrugged helplessly.

Annabeth seemed surprised. "Uh...yeah. You're right. My mom is the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena."

Now Rosie really felt like she was going to vomit. An unpleasant memory from her childhood threatened to re-emerge. She quickly pushed it away- no sense in talking about the past. Nothing she could do about it now.

"Butch here is the son of Iris, the goddess of rainbows," Annabeth explained.

Leo's eyes bulged. "I'm sorry, rainbows?" He choked back a laugh.

Butch growled at Leo. "Got a problem with that?"

Leo sized up Butch, seemingly realizing how big Butch was and how easily he could beat up Leo. He went pale. "Nope. Not at all. Rainbows. Very manly. I hear they're in,"

"I'm sorry-" she interrupted. "Does this thing have to go so fast? Isn't there a speed limit or something?" Maybe there were some sky traffic regulations out there.

Leo looked at her like she sprouted another head. "Are you kidding? Can we go faster?" he asked, bouncing on his heels.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Annabeth peered at her with interest. "Are you always like this with heights?"

"Excuse me?" She leaned into Jason. "Is it normal to actually _like _doing this?

"Bets she's gonna hurl?" Leo whispered to Jason.

Rosie could've sworn Jason started to lean away from her.

"Let me get this straight," Piper cut in. "You think that we're-"

The chariot suddenly shuddered, the left wheel bursting into flames. She noticed the look of fear on Leo's face, suddenly not so excited.

"Butch, the wheel!" Annabeth screamed.

"I-I got it," he said through gritted teeth. He pulled tightly on the reins.

"Hold on!" Annabeth said to them. "It's going to get rough."

Rosie hunched over. "_Going_ to get rough?!"

The Pegasi lurched forward, and Rosie nearly toppled backwards. She closed her eyes, willing herself to not vomit.

"The lake!" Annabeth yelled. "Aim for the lake!"

Rosie's eyes flew open, and she realized they were heading towards a lake at _full speed_. She felt her heart start to pound-was Annabeth trying to get them squashed into a pancake? All of her friends were screaming, but it sounded so far away.

Her muscles tensed. _No_, she commanded. _Please. Don't do it. _She had no control, though. A warmth spread throughout her body, all the way to her fingertips. The water beneath them started to rise, rapidly coming together in a puff, rising, coming closer to the chariot, lessening the distance and impact.

Annabeth snapped her head towards Rosie. "Rosie, what-"

The world was spinning. She felt lightheaded. She managed to get out, "Hold your breath!" as the chariot spiraled into the huge water stream.

Suddenly, she was submerged. The shock of the cold water seemed to re energize herself. She felt her mind clear itself, and her muscles relaxed. The water seemed to gather around her, pushing her along with little to no effort from her. She felt her knees graze the bottom of the lake, and suddenly she was sitting on the shore, completely dry.

"What the heck?" Someone exclaimed.

Rosie realized that about ten teenagers, all wearing the same orange t-shirts Annabeth and Butch were wearing, were staring at her.

"How is she completely dry?" One of them, a pretty but slightly vicious-looking Asian girl scowled at her.

Rosie looked down to see that the girl was right: she was completely dry. Totally a great first impression.

A blond boy with a quiver on his back knelt down in front of her. "Did you do that?" He asked gently. "The thing with the water?"

Rosie was ready to give him an incredulous look like _Who, me? No way!_ But she couldn't help but feel really angry at herself. She tried so hard to hide this- up until now, she had done a really good job of hiding it. She wasn't going to own up to now. Not when she had friends, friends she truly cared about.

_It could've been worse_, she reminded herself. _You haven't lost true control yet. _

"Rosie!" Annabeth was wading out of the water, soaked, followed by Jason, Leo, and Piper. Butch was in the lake, calming down the Pegasi. Thankfully, she thought her friends were too shocked and waterlogged to notice that she was completely dry. "Did you-"

"Annabeth!" The boy scowled. "You destroyed the chariot!"

"Sorry, Will," she responded. "I promise I'll fix it." She glanced back at Rosie. "Are you-"

"Are these the demigods?" Will asked, looking over at the four of them.

Why was she suddenly twenty degrees hotter? More importantly, why were they still wearing their winter coats? She glanced at Jason, and he seemed to echo her thoughts: who cranked up the sun?

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "They're-"

Piper then screamed. "Leo, your hair!"

Rosie turned to her left, where Leo was standing. She let out a loud yelp, covering her mouth with her hand when she realized her best friend was on _fire._ His curly, dark hair was ablaze with flames, reflecting a fierce red light onto his face.

Leo tilted his head in confusion. "What about my hai-" He looked up and yelped. "Ah! My hair!" He tried ducking behind Rosie, only for the flames to follow him.

Rosie looked at the other campers, who were silent but looked slightly amused. Why weren't they doing anything? Is this what they did- lured innocent kids to their creepy camp (cult) and set them on fire?

Piper echoed her thoughts. "Hello, our friend is on fire!"

Annabeth shook her head. "He's not on fire."

A shaken Leo peeked out from behind Rosie. Rosie rolled her eyes and yanked him forward. "I'm not?"

She realized that those weren't flames above Leo's head, just a fiery holograph of a hammer, which, in hindsight, didn't really make any sense either.

"No," Annabeth replied. "Leo, you've just been claimed."

"I'm sorry," Piper said. "_Claimed?_"

Rosie decided to say what they all were definitely thinking. "This is a cult, right?"

She saw a small smile on Annabeth's face, something she felt weirdly proud of. "Nope, not a cult. Leo was just claimed by his godly parent."

"Vulcan," Jason said. "He was claimed by Vulcan."

The campers went deadly silent. Leo's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Vulcan? Like the _Star Trek_ guy? Aw, man, I don't even like _Star Trek_,"

Rosie nodded to herself- she had to agree, _Star Wars_ was much superior.

Annabeth ignored Leo. "Jason...how do you know the term Vulcan?"

Why was it such a big deal? Maybe Jason was just a _Star Trek_ fan from wherever he came from. All the campers, however, were looking at Jason like he had something they didn't want to catch.

Jason sighed. "I...I don't know. Sorry."

"Vulcan is the roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, as if this made things clearer.

"He-_what_?" Leo asked.

"Hephaestus," she replied. "The god of fire and blacksmiths."

Leo looked like he was going to pass out. The pretty Asian girl stepped forward again and sneered at Leo. "Great. Exactly what we need with the curse-"

Leo and Rosie exchanged worried looks: after all, a curse didn't sound too welcoming.

"Drew, shut up," Will said tiredly.

"I just hope they were worth it," she spat out.

Rosie stifled a burst of laughter, glancing over at Piper like _can you believe her? _It was almost comforting that Isabels were everywhere in the world.

"We didn't exactly ask to be kidnapped here," Rosie snapped. The girl's eyes focused on her like laser vision.

"Yeah," Jason said. "How about some answers first before you all attack us?"

Drew sneered. "Maybe camp should stop bringing _dregs_ back, and then we wouldn't have to worry about people going missing,"

Annabeth's face hardened.

Leo stood up straighter. "I _know _you did not just call us dregs. Maybe it's time to show you how we do it at the Wilderness school!" Leo wildly swung his hands around. Jason gave him an amused look, probably because out of the four of them, he would be the only one Rosie would trust around a weapon.

Piper grabbed his arm. "Excuse our friend," she said. "But Rosie's right. We didn't ask to come here and be paraded here."

Drew laughed. "Yeah, let's all listen to the girl who clearly has no idea what hair conditioner is,"

Piper angrily charged forward, only to stop when Annabeth warned, "Piper, don't,"

Rosie too felt angered. She could feel her muscles tensing- not just because Drew was being mean to Piper, but also because she used the same conditioner as Piper so that was pretty worrying_. _Jason quietly placed a hand around Rosie's wrist, and Rosie turned to see him smirking at her, their positions switched from Isabel and her cronies being mean to Piper at the canyon. She felt the inappropriate urge to laugh.

Leo raised a hand timidly. "Could we get back to the Vulcan thing? Also, is this thing gonna disappear anytime soon?" He gestured to the fiery hammer.

"Everything will be explained," Annabeth promised. "Will, could you give Leo a tour and maybe bring him to cabin nine?"

"Sure thing," Will said. "Follow me, Mr. Spock." He steered Leo away.

Annabeth observed Jason. Rosie wasn't even the one being observed, and yet she felt nervous-she could only imagine what Jason was feeling. That Annabeth girl was _seriously intimidating_. She looked at Jason with scrutiny, like she was trying to piece him together.

"Do me a favor," she said to him. "Hold out your arm."

Jason took off his windbreaker, exposing his arms. Something on the inside of Jason's right arm caught Rosie's eye. Something that looked like a tattoo...she didn't think Jason had one of those. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she was just really unobservant. She glanced over at Piper, but she looked equally confused. Weird, considering she was his girlfriend. Either they were really terrible friends or that tattoo _just _got there.

She peered closer to observe it: it looked like a barcode, etched darkly into his skin. Above the lines were the letters SPQR, and an eagle.

"I…..don't know where that came from," Jason said in a perplexed tone.

Annabeth gently grabbed his arm, peering at the tattoo with a quizzical look. "It looks burned on," she observed.

One word: ouch.

"I think it was...I-I don't know. Maybe."

Annabeth dropped his arm, and went silent. After a second, she went, "Alright. Okay. Uh…" she took a breath. "Jason, you need to see Chiron. In the big house. Drew, could you take him there?"

Drew gave a smug smile as Piper inhaled sharply. "I would be _happy_ to," Drew gloated.

Annabeth nodded. "Thanks. Rosie and I will be up there in a while."

Rosie snapped back to attention as Drew lead Jason away. "Wait, what? Why do I need to go there?"

"And what about me?" Piper asked, a worried look on her face.

Annabeth gestured to Butch. "Butch is going to show you the ropes, Piper," she said. "I'm sorry to split the four of you up, but right now we need to focus on getting you all settled into camp."

Piper gave Rosie's hand a supportive squeeze as she followed Butch. The group of campers slowly dispersed, leaving Rosie and Annabeth.

Annabeth sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair. She turned to Rosie. "So," she said. "Do you like strawberries?"


	5. Strawberries and Secrets

Rosie thought she was kidding. She thought the strawberry question was just a weird icebreaker. She soon realized, however, Annabeth meant _actual strawberries_. Camp Half-Blood had innumerable fields of them. Rosie had no idea how they were able to grow them at this time of year.

"Wow," she praised, her mouth stuffed with strawberries. After all, strawberries were out of season and she was going to make the most of it while she had them here. "These are _so_ good, god. If you guys were a cult, selling strawberries would be a good front."

Annabeth gave her a distracted smile. When walking over to the field, Annabeth giving her a tour of camp, Rosie could tell her mind was elsewhere. It made for a pretty awkward conversation.

"Yeah, they're really tasty," Annabeth agreed. "Camp is invisible to mortal eyes, and since we can control the weather, strawberry picking is pretty much a year round thing."

"Are these great, almighty gods really that into strawberries?" She teased sarcastically.

Annabeth said nothing, a stormy look in her grey eyes.

Rosie's heart raced. "Oh god, am I not supposed to talk about them?" She asked in a panicked tone. "Is that how this works?"

Annabeth shook her head. "You're fine, Rosie. Sorry, I'm a little distracted. I really thought...Nevermind. Anyways….those cabins over there? Each one represents a Greek god, your parent."

"So ...my mom hooked up with a God. Got it." She picked at a thread on her jeans.

Annabeth gave her that classic intense Annabeth stare. "You seem pretty calm."

"I think I'm running purely off of adrenaline right now. Expect me to run into the Sound in twenty minutes."

"So...you grew up with your mom, then?" Annabeth asked tentatively.

Rosie felt like she was in one of those police investigation rooms, with a single table and a swinging light overhead. (When she had been sent to juvenile detention, she hadn't even gotten to sit in one of those rooms- still a sore spot).

"Yeah." She didn't elaborate. No offense to Annabeth, but why should she? She had just met her. It was like a message flashing in front of Rosie's eyes: _STRANGER DANGER!_

"Any siblings?"

Rosie yanked a stem off a strawberry fiercely. "No."

Annabeth nodded. She seemed to detect that she hit a territory that Rosie wasn't going to allow entrance to. "You should be claimed soon," she said. "It happened pretty quickly with Leo. Should've happened sooner, honestly."

"How come?"

"It was a deal we made with the gods last summer," she explained. "They promised to stop ignoring their kids and claim them by age 13."

"Thirteen, huh? I'm assuming that has nothing to do with puberty."

"Thirteen is a bad age for demigods. You give off a scent that attracts more monsters…you wouldn't happen to have any experience in that area, would you, Rosie?"

Okay, Annabeth was a _ruthless _interrogator- Rosie decided she would make a really good FBI agent. She shook her head tensely. "Not unless you count the one under my bed as a kid. His name was Fred."

Annabeth smiled tightly, most likely getting very annoyed by Rosie's jokes and distractions. "So, since you were all bound to attract a monster, we sent Gleeson Hedge in as your protector."

"Right. Coach…" she frowned.

"You okay?" Annabeth gave her a concerned look.

"Yeah-well, no. I just...I was such a jerk to Coach." Rosie sighed. "Leo and I pulled so many pranks on him, and he ended up saving the both of us at the Canyon…."

Annabeth gave her a sympathetic look. "He knew what the job entailed. He's a satyr, so he'll probably be reincarnated as a butterfly or a daisy or something ..."

Something about the thought of Coach Hedge as a patch of petunias did not sit right. Rosie promised herself right then and there that if Coach was okay, she'd never pull another prank on him. Okay, well, maybe just less pranks.

Annabeth nudged her. "Rosie, he might be fine."

"Right-you're totally right." She hesitated. "Can I ask you something?"

"I'd be concerned if you didn't have questions."

Rosie smirked. "Good one. The thing is…with Jason. I mean, he seems to have no idea who we are…"

Annabeth winced. "Yeah, about that...Rosie, we have something we call the Mist."

"The what?"

"It's...a cover. Does things to protect mortals from our world. Makes a monster look like a large dog, a sword like a pen, that sort of thing. It manipulates and deceives reality."

"What does that have to do with Jason?"

Annabeth hesitated. "I'm saying it's possible the Mist...created a reality in which Jason was actually at the Wilderness School with you, Leo, and Piper. It created fake memories of him for you guys."

At first, Rosie said nothing. Then, she let out a short bark of laughter. "Okay," she giggled. "You totally had me believing everything until you just said that."

Annabeth frowned. "Rosie-"

"Am I being ambushed?" She wondered aloud. This was ridiculous. "Is someone gonna pop out of the bush and yell sike at me?"

Did Annabeth really expect her to believe this? Rosie really doubted that she, Leo, and Piper were all collectively crazy and somehow imagined Jason.

"I know you may not want to believe it-"

"No," she interrupted. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. You weren't there these past four months. We're friends with Jason-"

"But-"

"You weren't there when Jason stayed up all night helping me study for our history midterm because I suck at reading. Or when-"

"Dyslexic?" Annabeth interrupted.

Rosie paused. "Uh, yeah, how'd you know that?"

"Demigod trait."

Rosie rolled her eyes. "You weren't there when Leo and I made Jason laugh so hard that orange juice came out of his nose. It was _disgustingly awesome, _and to this day it is known as the OJ incident of the century. You didn't hear how _loud _Piper and I squealed when she came back to our room and told me that Jason kissed her. Seriously- loud, stereotypical girl squealing."

Annabeth just went, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be. Because it happened." Saying those words, for some reason, bothered her. But...they were true, right? Jason was her friend. She had all the memories to prove it.

If Annabeth was telling the truth, Piper would be crushed. She was so thrilled when she finally got to be with Jason…Rosie felt slightly guilty for being so annoyed that Piper would always spend time with Jason rather than her. Was there really a chance she _made that up?_

"We should head to the Big House," Annabeth said, standing up and brushing off her shorts.

"Ah, right. Is there a reason you singled me out before? Do you know who my godly parent is?"

Annabeth paused, a brief flash of worry on her face. "I have my suspicions," she said. "Come on. Let's see if we can meet your dad."

_I've already met him, _she thought miserably.

_Ten Years Ago_

_She loved summers._

_Summers with her mom were the best. Summers were always so better on the naval base than winters. _

_Another good thing about summers? Rosie's birthday- June 10th. _

"_Come on, you little fishhead," her mom whispered teasingly, tickling Rosie's toes. "I wonder...whose birthday is it?"_

_Rosie giggled. Her mom was funny. _

"_Is it...mine?" Her mom pondered, a joking dumbfounded look on her face. Rosie shot right up. _

"_No, mommy!"_

_Her mom tilted her head. "Are you sure? Hmm, that's weird, I could've sworn...oh right, it's Buzz's birthday!"_

_Rosie giggled some more. "No it's not! It's mine! I'm five!"_

_Her mom feigned shock, a dramatic gasp coming out of her mouth. "No!"_

"_Yes!"_

"_No-" Her mother grabbed her by the ankles, hoisting her upside and over her shoulder, Rosie dissolving into giggles. "Way! Are you sure?"_

"_Yes!" _

_Her mom carried her throughout their small, cramped apartment, Rosie screaming her head off gleefully. Her mom couldn't stop laughing._

_That was the best birthday she ever had. They sang to her at the diner as she and mom devoured pancakes doused in whipped cream. They then went to the beach, where they chased seagulls and built enormous sandcastles together, ones her mother declared her the queen of. _

_Uncle Buzz even came, taking Rosie and her mother to the movies. Uncle Buzz wasn't an actual uncle- just one of her mom's best friends from the Navy. _

_Rosie had one request for a birthday cake: pink with polka dots. Her mom made exactly that, and Rosie beamed as Buzz and her mom sang Happy Birthday (off pitched) to her._

"_Happy Birthday, love." Her mom kissed her on the cheek. "Make a wish."_

_Rosie happily obliged, blowing out the candles as Buzz whooped in her ear._

"_What did you wish for?" Her mother whispered into her ear, as Buzz went over to the cabinet to get some utensils._

_She giggled. "I can't tell you."_

_She pouted sadly. "Seriously, kid?" _

"_Wishes are secrets, Mommy,"_

_Her mom's face brightened. "I bet you'd tell the tickle monster!"_

_Rosie screamed with glee as her mom tickled her, squirming in her chair._

_Ding. Her mom paused as the doorbell rang, a quizzical look on her face._

_She groaned as she stood up. "Buzz, if you invited the guys I'm gonna kill you." Her mom started to approach the door._

_Buzz laughed. "I didn't, I swear-"_

_Rosie really wanted to have some cake. She wished her mom would hurry._

_She heard a gasp escape from the mouth of her mother. Rosie turned towards the door, but couldn't see the figure in the door._

"_What are you doing here?" She heard her mother say in a dark, cold tone. Rosie frowned. That didn't sound like her mommy._

_Buzz reappeared, his face looking solemn. "Uh, Rosie," he started, "how about you show me those dolls in your room?"_

_Rosie instantly forgot about her mother. She showed Buzz her dolls, including her favorite Ariel doll, not giving much thought to the yells coming from outside of her room._

"_Why are you here? You aren't welcomed here."_

"_Marina, please. I just wanted to wish her happy birthday."_

"_Because you care, right?" Her mom asked mockingly._

_The tense conversation continued, but Buzz easily distracted Rosie with her dolls._

_Her mom then came into the room, looking...weird. Her mommy didn't usually have messy hair, and such a sad look on her face._

_Buzz jumped up. "Is it him?"_

_Her mom nodded, her mouth in one straight line._

_Buzz groaned. "I hate that guy."_

"_What guy?" Rosie asked._

_Her mom sighed, and knelt down to eye level with Rosie. "Sweetie..." she trailed off. "There's someone I think you should meet."_

_There was a man in her living room. He was standing there, looking somewhat embarrassed with a timid smile on his face. He had black hair, a bit darker than Rosie's brown hair, and sea green eyes that were similar to Rosie's blue green ones. He also had a beard. It was a stark difference from her mom, who was blonde and freckled (just like Rosie- spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks, what her mom called "sun kisses") and had brown eyes. _

"_Honey," her mother said gently. "This is your dad."_

_Rosie had asked her mom about her father- so many times Rosie insisted she'd tell her. Each time was a different story, one her mom exaggerated each time to make more interesting- he was a sailor. No, a pirate who tried stealing treasure off her mom's ship. Rosie's favorite: the king of a faraway but beautiful kingdom. _

"_Hello little one," He said gently. _

_She approached the man cautiously. He smelled like the sea._

_The man held out a huge hand to her, a sparkling pink shell in his hand. _

"_Happy birthday, my love."_


	6. The God of Forks

Annabeth pointed out certain cabins as they walked towards the Big House. "That one there is cabin nine, for kids of Hephaestus. Leo will be there."

"Poor them."

"Yeah ...they're actually not doing too great already. The head counselor...we lost him, and now there's a missing dragon on the loose."

"Sorry, dragon?"

Annabeth laughed. "Long story. Cabin 10 is over there,"

"You mean Barbie's dreamhouse?" Rosie wrinkled her nose at the frilly, extremely pink cabin, the smell of perfume wafting over from it.

"Aphrodite. Goddess of love."

"Gross. Which one is yours?" Rosie asked.

"Over there," she pointed out. "Cabin 6." The Athena cabin was gray, with huge columns and an owl carved above their door. It looked like a courthouse.

Rosie thought about how it would've been cool to be an Athena kid. Too bad that was impossible.

"So," Rosie started with a grin "Which one of these is calling my name?"

Annabeth peered at her. She sighed. "Rosie, the thing that happened on the lake-"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she laughed nervously. "Were we in the same chariot?"

"Rosie," Annabeth spoke gently. "It's all right-"

"I didn't do that. With the water."

"You aren't a freak. A lot of us have powers-"

Rosie shakily laughed. "I think this is a mistake," she said, speaking rapidly. Her pulse was racing. "I-I shouldn't be here. I'm just a troubled '_cupcake' _who should be at Wilderness. Actually, in science class right now. I promise to stay away from the grandes or ventis or whatever. So...I think I'm gonna go-maybe I'll take some of those strawberries to go."

She realized she sounded like a blubbering idiot. Annabeth had sent her into a panic- she couldn't have someone looking at her like that, like she _knew_. She didn't want to talk about that part of her life. It was buried and under control, and as far as she was concerned, as long as she ignored it, it really didn't bother her day to day life.

Annabeth reached a hand out to her. "Rosie, you can't-"

Rosie backed away, slowly quickening her pace. "Tell my friends bye- they'll do great here, really, proud friend right here!"

Time to do what she did best: run. She literally turned from Annabeth, and started running away.

"Rosie, you can't-" Annabeth broke off. "Are you _literally _running away?"

"Sorry!" She called out, running faster. Rosie glanced back at Annabeth, not quite aware that she was about to run downhill. Rosie fell face first down the hill, grunting as she rolled. She winced as she came to a stop, her face in a pile of dirt.

Rosie heard laughter. She looked up to see Leo pointing at her and laughing, Will next to him giving her a concerned look. Piper was also there, looking a bit embarrassed. Probably embarrassed that she was friends with Rosie. Rosie couldn't blame her for that.

She lay there, not quite sure how to come back from such an embarrassing moment.

Leo stopped laughing, instead looking at her with a confused look. She saw Will's eyes widen, and Piper let out a little gasp. Campers mulling around stopped and gasped at her.

"What?" Rosie asked. "What is it, dirt on my face?"

Wordless, Piper pointed to Rosie's head. Rosie looked up, only to see a shimmering blue hologram of some three-pronged object.

"Is that a _fork_?" Leo asked, his mouth twitching.

Will shook his head, a shocked look on his face. "That's not a fork," he muttered nervously. "That's a trident."

Rosie said nothing. What did that mean?

"A trident? Like the gum?" Piper asked. "What god is that?"

Annabeth reappeared at Rosie's side. She didn't looked surprised, only had a somber look on her face.

"Poseidon," she said grimly. "Rosie, daughter of Poseidon, the god of the sea, storms, and earthquakes."

Annabeth didn't waste time. As soon as the fork- sorry, _trident_\- appeared over her head, Annabeth grabbed her arm and quickly dragged her away. Rosie shot a quick _SOS _look at her friends.

"Has anyone ever told you you'd make a really good FBI agent?" She asked nervously as Annabeth dragged her along.

Annabeth said nothing, but occasionally looked back at Rosie nervously. The murmurs of the other campers freaked her out.

"Big three,"

"Daughter of Poseidon,"

"Percy?"

Rosie's stomach did gymnastics as they approached a four story blue and white house. The house itself was gorgeous. She liked the wraparound porch. One day, she would live in a house like that.

Annabeth barged right into the house, before Rosie could even ask: _Hey, is this a no shoes house?_ The room that they entered was covered with vines. There was a taxidermy head, a leopard, above the fireplace. Rosie had the uncomfortable feeling that its eyes were following her.

Jason was sitting on the couch, across from a man in the wheelchair. The man was wearing a _World's Best Centaur_ shirt, and had sweatpants on. He had long, curly brown hair. He looked kind enough, but she still couldn't help feeling like she was being marched to the principal's office.

"Annabeth," the man said tiredly. "Can this wait?"

"No," Annabeth answered. "I'm sorry, Chiron, but it's urgent."

Chiron nodded tensely, motioning Annabeth to follow him. The two of them went over into the corner, where they weren't really out of earshot, but Rosie and Jason pretended politely anyway.

"She's a daughter of Poseidon," Annabeth whispered.

Chiron shook his head in disbelief. "How she went all unnoticed all this time…."

Rosie glanced at Jason awkwardly. "'Sup," she said nonchalantly.

He nodded in greeting. "Hey."

"Bad day?" She asked sarcastically.

He shrugged. "I've had better."

She nodded in agreement.

Chiron and Annabeth kept shooting Jason and Rosie looks, like any second they were going to admonish them: _devil children, stay back!_

Chiron wheeled over to the two of them. "Rosemary, is it? I'm Chiron, activities director at camp."

"I usually go by Rosie," she muttered awkwardly, seeing Jason's face scrunched up in confusion. "Nice to meet you."

He smiled at her, and some of Rosie's nervousness disappeared. Hopefully, she'd stop blabbing like an idiot. "It's a pleasure, Rosie. Would you mind talking for a bit?"

"Uh, sure."

Annabeth gracefully excused herself. "I should go talk to Piper."

"About what?" Jason asked.

_About the fact that you never went to the Wilderness school and your entire relationship is a lie. Fun, right?!_

Annabeth's face faltered. "Just a little welcome to camp. Jason, could you come with me for a second? We should let Chiron and Rosie...talk."

Rosie sat down on the couch after they left. It was a pretty comfortable couch; she wondered if it would be inappropriate to ask him if she could nap on it. Chiron was now making her slightly nervous with his intense gaze.

"So...talking. That sounds loaded," she said.

Chiron shrugged. "Doesn't have to be. You've just...created quite a stir."

"Someone with a record never wants to hear that," she quipped jokingly.

"Well...I'm afraid a daughter of Poseidon isn't an everyday occurrence."

Rosie's face fell. "Yeah...it seems like that's the big takeaway from this."

Chiron sighed. "Rosie, dear, your father...he's one of the gods we say are apart of the Big Three."

"Big Three?"

"Zeus, the god of the sky. Hades, the god of the underworld. And-``He broke off. "Your father- god of the sea."

"I'm guessing this somehow imploded."

"Ah, you're catching on. After World War II, the three of them had an agreement not to have any more demigods. Of course, there have been some...er, exceptions…"

"Hi, my name is exception."

"I don't know how you managed to stay off the radar for this long...how old are you again, dear?"

"Fifteen."

Chiron nodded intently, a thoughtful look on his face. "Any family in the picture? Before you went to Wilderness?"

"My mom. She was a sailor in the Navy."

Chiron tilted his head in confusion. "The navy...did you move a lot?"

Something told Rosie it wouldn't be good to lie to him. "Well, when I was really young we did. But I don't remember that...I stayed in Maine for most of my life."

Chiron clutched his head as if he had a migraine. "Can't say I saw this coming…"

Rosie shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "Does this have anything to do with that camper that went missing? Uh, Percy?"

He smiled sadly at her. "I wish we could've seen Percy's reaction to having a sister."

_A brother. _Why did it have to be a brother?

She felt a knot in her stomach. "So your Poseidon camper went missing and now I show up."

"You don't know anything about Percy? Demigods are usually powerful dreamers. Visions…" he trailed off hopefully.

Rosie thought back to the dream, the dream she had a week ago.

_She was in a cage. Her arms were shackled and no matter how hard she tugged at them, they wouldn't budge._

"_Help!" She screamed. _

_The chains burned- she fell to her knees, crying out._

"_Stop fighting, Rosemary. It's for your own good."_

_That voice. She knew that voice._

"_No," she moaned. "Noooo, go away."_

_The chains suddenly slid off. A woman appeared in front of the cage, the same woman that voice belonged to. Dark. Regal. Staring at Rosie like she was dirt on her shoe._

"_Free me, Rosemary_. _Free me like I freed you. It's the only way he'll survive. Only you can save him."_

_The bottom of the cage disappeared, and Rosie fell through, screaming. _

_She fell into a river, the cold shock of it freezing her body, causing her to gasp for air. She tore through the surface, only to find a wolf staring at her. Next to the wolf was a black-haired, green eyed boy staring back at her, a pleading look in her eyes._

"_Run away, Rosie," A different voice this time, one that sounded familiar but she couldn't quite place it. _

"_Run away or die," the voice snarled._

_Rosie awoke with a shudder, drops of sweat running down her face._

"_Rosie?" Piper sleepily muttered from across the room. "S'okay?"_

"_I'm fine," she said, shivering despite the sweat running down her face. She wrapped her blanket around her closer. "It was nothing."_

"_Y-yo-you sure?" Piper rolled onto her side, facing Rosie with her eyes closed._

"_Go back to sleep," Rosie told her. "I just...I dreamt that I turned into a giant cupcake and Hedge chased me."_

_Piper snorted. "That sounds terrifying," she said, turning back to go to sleep._

"_Yeah," Rosie said, a knot of dread growing in her stomach. "It really was."_

Rosie looked at Chiron's hopeful face. This Percy guy sounds like he was really all over the place. She knew deep down she should ask Chiron about her dream, see if that boy was Percy ...but she couldn't. She shook her head grimly. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I wish I could help...but I can't."

Rosie was sure this Percy would be grateful she wasn't helping if he found out who she was. And probably wouldn't invite her to any family reunions.

Chiron nodded. "I feared as much. Sadly, Percy disappearing is only one of many of our problems right now,"

"I'm sorry...what exactly is going on?"

"Unfortunately, the gods have seem to...er, cut off communication, so to speak. Besides claimings, no one has heard from them. Our own camp director has disappeared," Chiron said grimly.

"Camp director?"

"Dionysus. God of Wine."

"You had a _god _run your summer camp?!"

Chiron smiled. "A quite brash one, yes."

"And he just left? Poof? MIA?"

The smile disappeared from his face. "Something is not right. It hasn't been for a while…" He trailed off, muttering, "Something stirring…" He got a faraway look in his eyes.

"Chiron? Uh, hello?" she asked. "What's stirring?"

The sound of footsteps outside grew louder, and Rosie jumped as the door slammed open. Annabeth burst in, along with a frizzy redheaded girl. In between them was an unconscious Piper, who they were keeping upright. Jason, a frightened look on his face, followed in after them.

"Girls?" Chiron asked. "What is the meaning-"

The redhead girl looked like she had been crying. "I think I may have killed their friend," she gasped out. She turned to look at Rosie. "Hi. I'm Rachel by the way,"

"Uh, hi?" Rosie said, jumping off the couch so they could lay Piper down on it. Piper was breathing, but appeared to be in a comatose state. "Could we go back to the killing my friend thing?"

Jason angrily said, "What happened? There's a way to save her, right?"

"We went to Hera's cabin," Annabeth said. "Piper and I. Rachel…" she trailed off hesitatingly.

Chiron placed a hand on Piper's forehead, as if he were taking her temperature. "She's not well."

"No kidding she's not well," Rosie snapped. "We leave her alone for thirty seconds with you people, and look what it does."

She could feel the tension in her body solidifying, a rumbling in her toes. She looked at the confused faces of Chiron, Rachel, and Annabeth, and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I...it's been a long day."

Chiron smiled sympathetically. "We understand, Rosie. It's terribly a lot to process."

Jason gave her a supportive nod. "But also, she's right. What exactly happened?"

Rachel sighed. "It's all my fault, I'm so sorry! I had a feeling, so I went to Hera's cabin-"

"You went to her cabin based on a _feeling_?" Rosie asked incredulously.

"Rosie," Annabeth said. "Rachel is our camp oracle."

"_Oracle? _Like an future-telling, all-knowing, oracle oracle?" Rosie took a glance at their faces, realizing they all looked slightly annoyed. "Sorry. Right- oracle. Totally normal. I'll shut up now."

"Anyways," Rachel continued. "I-I blacked out once Annabeth and Piper came in."

"It was different this time, Chiron," Annabeth insisted. "It was _nothing_ like Rachel's prophecy voice." Rosie felt like maybe this was a conversation she wasn't important enough to be apart of. Maybe if she kept quiet they wouldn't kick her out. "It sounded like an older woman. Rachel grabbed Piper and said-"

Jason winced. "Let me guess," he sighed. "Free her from a prison?"

_Free me like I freed you._

Rosie felt her heart race, and her palms became clammy. There's no way they were talking about the same woman, right?

Annabeth nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Wait, how do you know that?"

Jason exchanged a look with Chiron. Chiron nodded him on. "Go ahead, boy. Tell them."

Jason gulped. "When Chiron and I were talking, a ...woman appeared. She was wrapped in these dark shawls. She told me she was my godly patron, and that my dad…my dad gave her my life...to use for her own benefit, I guess? She asked me to free her from a prison, and then uh- Seymour ate her."

No one said anything for a second. For once, it seemed like she wasn't the only confused one in the room. It was a nice change.

"Seymour?" Rosie asked. Start there.

"Oh, the leopard," Jason said, gesturing to it above them.

"Huh. That's ironic." She let out a laugh. "Because...Seymour, right? _Little Shop of Horrors_?"

Jason blinked at her. "Um. I've never seen it."

"Hey, bright side of being an amnesiac, right? You can watch everything again for the first time-"

"Your patron," Annabeth repeated, a thoughtful look on her face. "She said your patron?"

Jason nodded.

"I've never heard that before." Annabeth frowned. "Maybe it has something to do with that storm spirit?"

"Dylan," Rosie whispered loudly to Rachel. "Storm spirit by night, over-user of Axe cologne by day." Rachel gave her a grateful smile.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"Didn't you say that he-er, Dylan- was working for some mistress? Maybe that's who wants you to free them?"

Jason shook his head. "I don't think so...I mean that lady sounded like an enemy, right? I don't think she'd ask me to free her."

Rachel looked over at Rosie. "You haven't had any creepy ominous women show up in your dreams, have you?"

Rosie could tell she said it as a joke, but it sent her into a panic nonetheless. "Nope," she laughed hollowly. "Fresh out of those."

"She mentioned an enemy," Jason said. "A king getting powerful and rising from the earth on solstice-"

Annabeth went pale. She looked over at Chiron, who had remained mostly quiet. "Not Kronos ...it can't be him, right?"

"King Titan," Rachel explained to Jason and Rosie. "I threw a hairbrush at him. Long story."

Rosie laughed. She liked Rachel. Besides the maybe killing her friend part.

"No, child, it's not Kronos," Chiron said warily, checking Piper's wrist. "I fear it's something much worse this time…"

"What?" Annabeth asked. "What could be worse?"

"Oh, no." Rachel's face faltered. "The voice- it was Hera, wasn't it? She showed up to Jason to, didn't she?"

Annabeth let out an angry wail, once again convincing Rosie that she would never, ever want to be in a dark alley with an angry Annabeth. "_Hera _did this?!" She let out a frustrated noise. "Of course she did!"

"So I take it you and Hera are besties?" Rosie asked.

"I think you're right, Rachel," Jason said. "The woman did seem like a goddess. She wore this-this goatskin. Isn't that Juno-I mean-Hera's symbol?"

Annabeth scoffed. "I've never heard of that."

"He's right," Chiron admitted. "Hera usually appears in a goatskin in her Roman counterpart, Juno. It symbolizes Roman soldiers."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "This is Hera we're talking about, maybe it's a good thing she's locked up."

"Annabeth," Chiron chided lightly. "Let's not discount Hera's importance. After all, she holds the gods together. If what Jason is telling us is true, then...Olympus could very well be on the verge of collapse."

"Metaphorical collapse?" Rosie asked. "I mean, Olympus isn't a real place...right?"

"Oh no," Chiron told her. "Olympus is alive and well."

"Um, what?"

"I just don't get it," Annabeth said. She looked like how Leo did whenever he got an idea for some crazy project: like the gears turning in her head. "What could be worse than a Titan?"

"Do the gods know about this?" Rachel wondered.

"Hera made it sound like she's been imprisoned for a month," Jason offered.

"That's how long Olympus has been down." Annabeth frowned. "They must know, then. Right?"

"Then why can't they bail her out?" Jason asked angrily. "I'm not that important. I don't understand why I had to have my memory wiped and placed into the Wilderness school, just for her to tell me to set her free."

"Oh, gods have demigods do their bidding all the time," Rachel told him. "They send them on quests to get things done."

Rosie mimed her arms like she was operating a puppet. "Dance for me!" She saw a faint shadow of a smile on Jason's face.

"Rachel's right," Annabeth agreed. "But why Jason? Why take his memory?"

"Not just his memory," Rosie pointed out. "Piper, Leo and I were all sorta lead to believe...that we were friends with Jason." She winced. "Not that we aren't! Just...this Hera chick sure used a lot of people to get her point across."

"And remember, she said the same thing to Piper," Rachel said. "To free her. Annabeth, this _has _to do with Percy's disappearance." She looked at Rosie. "_You_ have a role in bringing Percy back."

Rosie grimaced as Annabeth turned to Chiron. "Chiron? You're being quiet...what do you think about all of this?"

Chiron sighed. "I can't help you with this. It's...I can't get involved."

Annabeth jerked back. "What? Chiron, you've never kept me out of the loop."

"I can't speak on this, Annabeth. I'll be in my office. Rachel, call Argus and take Piper to the infirmary. Annabeth…" he sighed. "Get Rosie settled in her cabin. Jason...you should tell Jason about the Greek and Roman gods." Chiron wheeled away.

Annabeth shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe him." She angrily picked at a fingernail.

Rachel gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's going to be fine. I'll stay here with Piper. You go with Rosie and Jason."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Rosie asked Rachel. "I pride myself on how well I've held Piper's hair in the past when she's...you know, puked."

Rachel shook her head. "It's okay, I got it."

Annabeth stood up. "Let's go," she said to them.

"Go?" Jason asked. "Where are we going?"

Annabeth took a breath. "I think I have a way to get your memory back."


	7. Road Trip Time

Rosie pleaded-no, begged. She was this close to getting down on her knees, but she figured that might be overstepping it.

"Please."

Annabeth shook her head. "No, Rosie."

"I'll behave, I promise," she whined.

"Is she always like this?" Annabeth asked. "You know, in the twelve hours you've known her?"

"I'm starting to think so," Jason said.

"I'll be super quiet during the exorcism-"

"It's _not _an exorcism," Annabeth told her for the third time.

"I just want that one moment. That moment where I can scream 'he's alive!' You know?"

Annabeth shook her head. "I really don't."

"Please!" She whined like a little kid, bouncing on her heels. "I want to see the voodoo magic!"

Annabeth placed her hands on her shoulders, steering her towards Cabin 3. "Okay, Rosie, here. Home sweet home!" She lead Rosie into the low, gray building decorated with coral and shells, as Jason lingered outside.

The cabin made her feel...seasick, which was saying a lot. She felt as if she were completely underwater. A string of shells hung on the wall.

"Whoa," she said. "Nautical."

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. "They really played into the sea theme."

"They?" Rosie asked.

"Percy and Tyson."

"Oh, it isn't just Percy? He has a brother?" Maybe she and Percy were more similar than she thought. She wondered if he was like her- maybe he could help her. Maybe she should go to find Percy.

"Half-brother," Annabeth said. "Which makes him your half-brother. He's a cyclops."

Rosie must've misheard her. "A cyclops?"

Annabeth nodded with a slight smirk on her face, like she was waiting for Rosie's reaction.

After a brief pause, Rosie went, "I legitimately don't know how to respond to that."

Annabeth laughed. "He's a good guy," she said. "Friendly, and I say that as someone who's not a fan of cyclops…" She shuddered. "Most cyclops are children of Poseidon."

"Oh. Joy." So she was part-cyclops; lovely.

"Tyson's one of the search parties out now for Percy, so you'll actually have the cabin to yourself."

"Oh. Okay. Um, which bunks are theirs? You know, smelly boy beds,"

Annabeth pointed to two bunks stacked against the far wall. "Those over there. Oh, and before I forget…" She hesitated, and then pulled a dagger out of her pocket.

Rosie panicked and put her hands up. Annabeth shot her a confused look.

"What are you doing?"

"Pre….paring for attack?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm not attacking you. I was going to give this to you. All demigods should have a weapon…"

"Ooh, _cool_! Hand it over!"

Annabeth reluctantly handed it to her. "Now, it's important to be careful…"

Rosie swung the knife around, making the kind of grunts she expected you would make in a fight.

Annabeth winced. "You know, maybe I should hold onto that for you…"

Rosie raised her eyebrows at her, jokingly pointing the dagger at her. "Ah! Stay back!"

Annabeth looked amused. "Percy would find you really funny…" she trailed off, a faraway look on her face.

Rosie gulped. She quickly pointed at Annabeth with a smile on her face. "And you will too, one day...maybe a faraway day, but you will,"

Annabeth lifted the corners of her mouth slightly, and then waved as she walked out, leaving Rosie alone.

Home. Annabeth had called this her home. She hadn't had one of those in almost three years. The only reason she would even consider calling Wilderness a home is because of her friends…

Rosie stared at the bunk beds, trying to imagine her and her two brothers hanging out. Maybe they would pick on her and tease her. Or maybe they'd be good friends. They'd have movie nights and game nights.

She thought bitterly to herself, _I don't deserve siblings. _

The cabin reminded her of home. Real home- in Maine with Mom and Max. She sat down on a bunk, curling her legs up underneath her, and mourning the sibling she did have.

_Ten Years Ago_

_Rosie would never know what events occurred the night of her birthday, but for a while, the man stayed, and they were a family. She would wake to her mother with the paper in her hand smiling over the top of her coffee cup at her father, who would make them breakfast. Her father gave her so many piggyback rides- on top of his shoulders, she felt invincible._

_That summer they practically lived at the beach, only returning to the apartment when the sun had finally set. They would come back, sandy and exhausted but warmed from the sun._

_Her father would then lie on the floor of the living room with her, telling her stories. She'd eventually be lulled to sleep, her dad carrying her back to her room._

_Swimming was Rosie's favorite thing to do at the beach- no, just in general. Water was calming to her, ever since she was a baby. Her mom would always brag that Rosie was such a good swimmer because of her- her mother had swum all throughout high school and college, until she decided to join the Navy._

_However, her mother's swimming ability was nothing compared to her father's. Her father would push Rosie, pushing her to go farther. He'd take her past the waves began to form, where the sea was deadly silent and still, except for the quiet hush and silent sea spray across her face._

_It was silly, but Rosie always had this thing when it came to the sea: particularly sea animals. She used to imagine that she could talk to them. She almost thought of them as her friends._

"_That dolphin thinks you're funny," Rosie said to her father, giggling. They were in the ocean together, her arms wrapped around his neck._

_Her dad had an amused smile on his face. "Does it now? Tell it thank you."_

_It was perfect. Rosie was so happy._

_It all came crashing down one night. Rosie was supposed to be sleeping, but instead was under her covers reading a book on marine life her dad had gotten her, her eyes dropping but begging to stay open. She struggled with reading, but stubbornly insisted on reading it on her own._

"_Shit, shit, shit-"_

"_Marina, calm down."_

"_Calm down?! You want me to calm down?"_

"_It's going to be fine-"_

"_It's not, and you know that. God, I can't believe I let this happen again. Get out. Now."_

"_Marina, I'll protect them, Rosemary will be fine-"_

"_They're going to die! The monsters have left us alone so far, but now?"_

_Rosie shifted uncomfortably- monsters?_

"_I'm sorry-" her father sobbed._

_That was the last time she saw her father- he became a distant memory, one Rosie couldn't tell if she made up or not. Her mother never mentioned him._

_The next morning, her mom sat down at the breakfast table with a somber look on her face._

"_So, fishhead. How do you feel about having a brother or sister?"_

If you can't beat them, join them. That's what Rosie said to herself as she put on an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. She was still slightly convinced that they were a cult. However, it was dinnertime and she was hungry.

She quickly learned that being one of the 'Big Three' kids wasn't that much to be happy about. When she entered the Dining Pavilion, she was informed that she had to sit at the Poseidon table- by _herself_.

It was incredibly lonely, and for a second, she actually found herself missing Wilderness. Meal time at Wilderness was usually the one time that the teachers left them alone. The four of them-well, she guessed it was actually the three of them- would sit together and usually complain about the day they had. Leo would retell some hilarious story with impressions. Piper would usually get annoyed at him and throw _something_ at him. A lot of the time, it boiled down to their favorite debate: what exactly was the garbage on their plate?

Instead, Rosie sat alone. She wondered if she could possibly hit Leo with a spitball from where she was sitting. Piper was nowhere to be found; she hoped her friend was okay. Jason was sitting with Chiron- weird. She wondered if he knew who his godly parent was.

After dinner, she was hoping to slip away and get some sleep- it had been an incredibly long day, one she couldn't believe hadn't ended yet.

But no- camp had a singalong. Rosie didn't get this place. One minute they were getting possessed by goddesses and sword-fighting, and the next they were acting like a normal summer camp.

She spotted Jason in one of the first rows in the amphitheater. She walked up to where he was sitting.

"Hey, I hear this is where all the freaks sit," she said to him.

He scooted over to make room for her, and she sat down next to him.

"So," she said to him, as more campers filed into the seating. "What do you think is the set list? _This Land is Your Land? My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean?"_

He shook his head. "How are you so calm?"

"I mean, to be fair, my noggin is intact," she said, tapping on her head. "You didn't happen to get your memory back?"

Jason's face darkened. "No. My memory was...not lost, but stolen by Hera."

"Stolen?"

He sighed, his leg thumping up and down anxiously. "I just...It doesn't feel right to be sitting here. There's things to be done-I want answers. And the thing with Piper-" He broke off, angry. "Is this how Leo feels, like 24/7?"

"Probably times a thousand."

"So, Poseidon, huh?"

"Do you think this means I'm part seahorse?" She joked. "Oh, wait, hey! Did you find out your godly parent?"

Jason nodded tensely. "Big guy in the sky."

"Oh. Zeus. Wow." She brightened up. "Hey, I guess that makes us cousins? Right?"

He nodded weakly as Annabeth came to sit next to them. The crowd of campers went hush, and Rosie's mouth dropped as Chiron came on stage. He was no longer a man in a wheelchair. Instead, he was half man, half...horse.

"Are those horse legs?" She asked Jason.

He looked. "Uh, yeah, he's a centaur. He didn't tell you?"

"That did not come up."

"He was wearing a World's Best Centaur Shirt."

"I thought he was being ironic."

Rosie didn't realize how much she missed out on not going to summer camp as a kid. The campfire singing was _fun_. She got into it, and would occasionally nudge Jason to join in.

The song finished with some rowdy applause, as Chiron galloped back on stage.

"Well done, campers! I'm happy we're all together. Now, we'll get to s'mores in a second, but I have some announcements first."

"Are we playing capture the flag or not?" someone yelled out.

Chiron sighed. "I realize that everyone, especially our Ares campers, is eager to return back to our normally scheduled game of Capture the Flag. Unfortunately, that is not possible until we get the dragon back under control. Cabin nine, how are we doing with that?"

A girl in an army jacket sitting next to Leo stood. "We're working on it," she said uncomfortably.

"Work faster, Nyssa!" someone yelled. Campers started angrily grumbling.

Chiron raised his hands in a shushing gesture. "Now, now, let's all relax," he said. "We have other things to discuss."

"Yeah, about Percy?" someone asked. Chiron gestured for Annabeth to stand up.

Annabeth addressed the crowd. "I won't lie, I really thought he'd be at the Canyon today. However…" she took a deep breath. "We're not giving up hope. Everyone's out looking for him- Grover, Tyson, Nico. At the moment, we have other problems. A new quest, I guess."

Drew stood up from underneath the Aphrodite banner. "This is about the Great Prophecy, isn't it?"

A nervous murmur broke out among the campers.

Jason leaned closer to Rosie. "What's the Great Prophecy?" he asked, whispering.

"I don't know," she whispered back. "But it sounds great."

Jason glared at her.

After a pause, Rosie nervously laughed and said, "You must think about frying me to a crisp a lot, huh?"

"All the time."

"Come on, Annabeth," Drew said. "We know Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera is sending visions. Is this the start of the Great Prophecy?"

Rachel, the camp oracle, stepped forward, Piper at her side. "Drew is correct," she said. "The Great Prophecy is starting."

Campers started whispering to one another, all staring and pointing at Rachel, as she walked to the front of the amphitheater, where Rosie was sitting with Jason and Annabeth.

"For those who don't know," Rachel continued. "The Great Prophecy goes like this:

_Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall-"_

Jason shot to feet, giving Rosie a heart attack. "Uh, Jason, buddy, you good?" she asked him.

"_Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," _he chanted, causing Rosie to wiggle away from him a little uncomfortably. They were definitely the freak section now. "_Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem._"

"Um." Rachel's face went pale. "You just finished the prophecy, Jason. _An oath to keep with a final breath/ And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death._ How did you know that?"

"I don't know." Jason looked in pain. "I just know it."

Jason sat down with an embarrassed look on his face. Rosie gave him a nudge. "Hey, so you were a nerd in your past life, it's okay," she comforted him.

Rachel looked slightly unsure of how to continue. "So yeah…Um, I think...The Great Prophecy is starting now. I hoped this wouldn't happen for years, but here we are…. It's likely that some of the eight demigods are here tonight. We don't know what this prophecy will lead to, but we have a first step. Hera has been taken."

The campers were shocked into silence.

"And from what I've been told," Rachel said. "It appears that Hera has assigned Jason a quest."

Jason stiffened next to Rosie. After a second, he nodded bravely. "I agree."

There was no doubt in Rosie's mind that wherever Jason came from, he was a hero.

"Jason is going to have to save Hera to prevent some sort of evil King rising. It must happen by the winter solstice."

Four days. Was there always a time limit for these things?

"Winter Solstice," Chiron spoke up, "is known for stirring up ancient, evil magic."

_Welp. That doesn't sound like a party_, she thought.

"Right. We got it." Annabeth shot Chiron a look. "Anyways, Rachel's right. Jason is going to have to lead this quest-"

"Why hasn't he been claimed, then?" Someone shot from the crowd.

"Jason has. Jason, please stand and show them," Chiron said.

Jason cleared his throat nervously, standing up. He took the golden coin out of his pocket, flipping it in the air. When he caught it, she realized it had turned into a seven foot long rod of gold, speared at the tip. Rosie shifted slightly to avoid the top.

"What happened to the sword?" Rosie asked him.

He shrugged. "Came up tails, I guess. It's electric ...I'd back away."

Rosie went pale. "Oh, yeah, we're going to want to step back," she said to Annabeth and Rachel, both who nervously stepped back.

Jason raised his spear, and in a truly hair raising moment, thunder rumbled. Lighting struck down, ricocheting off Jason's spear and hitting the campfire with brutal force. The campers were showered with ash and once the smoking finally subsided, Rosie looked down and saw herself covered in cinders.

"Showoff," she muttered.

"Everybody," Chiron announced. "Jason, son of Zeus, Lord of the Sky."

Rosie looked at him, suddenly struck with the memory of how she _thought _she had met him.

_Leo messed with her hairdryer. Again._

_She groaned in frustration, whipping the broken hairdryer out of the outlet and probably just slightly missing a chance of electrocution._

_Piper raised her eyebrows at her in amusement. "You good?"_

"_Leo took apart my hair dryer."_

"_Again?" Piper asked, aghast. "You want to borrow mine? He finally put it back together."_

"_Nah, I have some suppressed Isabel rage I've been meaning to get out. I think it may clear my acne."_

_Piper laughed. "Go kill him, Reiger!"_

_So she went, speeding down the hallway in wet hair and in her pink bathrobe._

"_I'm going to kill you, Valdez!" She exclaimed as she opened Leo's door (she never knocked, a point she would try to make since Leo always knocked at their door, while joking, "you ladies modestly covered?"). Someone, however, was blocking the door and yelped in pain as Rosie opened it. The force of the door being blocked made her slightly stagger. _

"_Uh-Sorry-"The door opened fully, and standing there wasn't Leo or Chester, but a boy Rosie had never seen before. He was kinda cute, in a completely-perfect-Abercrombie-Fitch model way. He had blonde hair and intense blue eyes. A small white scar accented his lip. Rosie had never been to California, but could easily picture him among surfers. If this boy was gonna say "sup, brah," Rosie would actually implode. _

_For a second, neither of them said anything. The boy's eyes were wide, and Rosie realized how ridiculous/insane she must look. _

"_I'm trying to avenge my hairdryer," she said, not quite sure how less crazy this would make her sound. _

"_Okay..." the boy looked more confused._

"_Sorry," Rosie quickly said. "Sorry, just-do Leo Valdez and Chester Remings not live here?" She was really going to kill Leo if this were some elaborate prank. _

"_Oh! I'm not sure about Chester, but I'm Leo's new roommate, my name is-"_

"_Oh my god, did he kill Chester?!"_

_The boy panicked. "Wait, what-"_

_The door opened a third time, this time with Leo whistling and spinning a roll of electrical tape on his finger. He stopped as soon as he saw Rosie, and stifled some laughter._

_She didn't know what to bring up first: her poor hairdryer or the fact that Leo may have blown up his roommate. _

_She thwacked him on the arm with her hair dryer. "You took apart my hairdryer!" Apparently the hair dryer took precedence; sorry Chester._

_Leo snapped his fingers. "That's what I needed to tell you! Geez, that was bugging me."_

"_Also-" Rosie pulled Leo slightly to the side, in case there was a chance this conversation would be incriminating. "What did you do to Chester?"_

_The boy's eyes were moving rapidly back and forth between her and Leo. That wasn't super surprising; the two of them could talk like a tennis match sometimes. _

"_Oh! That. Right. He's gone-I didn't do anything, I swear. I think he was cured or something. Anyways, this is my new roommate. Dang, I'm not even sixteen and my mind is just going..." he turned to the boy. "Rosie, Jason. Jason, meet my spirited yet short-"_

"_I'm taller than you," she chimed in._

"_Short sidekick Rosie Reiger!"_

"_On behalf of the Wilderness School, I'm so sorry," she said to Jason, shaking his hand._

"_Thanks for that, Freckles."_

"_Nice to meet you," Jason said._

"_What's with the electrical tape?" Rosie took it from Leo._

"_Ah, yes! I figured that now that Chester's gone, we can get some dope strobe lights in here. Sounds good, right bro?" He directed the last part of this at Jason._

"_You're never going to be bored with us," she told Jason._

Had that really not happened? It made her sad. She looked at Jason and saw her nerdy, slightly uptight but lovable friend, not the son of the freaking almighty sky god. But it wasn't real- and that sorta hurt.

She pushed herself to focus back on the campfire discussion.

"How come we didn't know about those two sooner? They're children of the Big Three!"

She realized they were talking about her and Jason. The two of them exchanged a look.

"Back off!" said a voice that Rosie recognized as Leo's. She smiled to herself.

"It doesn't matter," Rachel said. "He has a destiny on this quest, and he'll need a prophecy-"

Rachel closed her eyes and swooned, as if she was becoming faint. Two campers rushed forward to place her on a stool, like they had this down to a science. Green mist started swirling around her. She opened her eyes, which were flowing with vengeance.

She opened her mouth and spoke out in a raspy tone:

_Child of lightning, beware the earth, The giants' revenge the eight shall birth, The horse, forge, and dove shall break the cage, And death unleash through Hera's rage._

_The horse. _"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered to herself.

Rachel was brought to a corner to rest, as a voice Rosie recognized as Piper's spoke out: "Um ...so does that happen to her a lot?" Everyone turned to look at her, something Rosie knew Piper tried to avoid.

"Are you always this dense?" Drew snapped. "She literally just issued Jason's prophecy-"

"Drew, back off," Annabeth said. "It's a good question. That prophecy is _not _normal. Why should we free Hera if it just causes more death? Also, why would it mention three other people in it? That plus Jason would be four- that's not a good number for quests. Maybe this is a trap."

Jason stood up again. "It doesn't matter if it is or not. I need my memory back. We can't just not help her."

Annabeth took a breath. "So I guess we accept Hera's terms. Unfortunately," she muttered. "So...the prophecy said you need to pick three people: the horse, the forge, and the dove."

Rosie remained silent. Maybe if she was really, really quiet they wouldn't notice her.

"The horse!" Someone called out. "That's obviously the new girl! She's a daughter of Poseidon, isn't she?"

Rosie grimaced. "Now, people, are we really sure about that-"

"Yes," Chiron answered. "It can only be you, Rosie. You're linked with Percy; this quest is connected to his disappearance. It makes sense that Hera would pick you…"

"Are you 100 percent positively sure?"

"Yes."

She groaned. "Ugh. I thought that would work."

"So?" Jason looked at her expectantly. "Will you come?"

She really wanted to say no. Did she even have a choice?

She took a breath. "Okay. Yeah, I'll go. If we have some really good road trip snacks."

She said yes to the old Jason, the one that only existed in the crevices of her mind, the friend she thought they knew.

"So we took care of the horse-" Annabeth began.

"The horse has a name, and the horse isn't a horse!" Rosie exclaimed.

"Right. Sorry. We have Rosie so far. Now we need a forge and a dove."

Jason thought for a second. Then he said, "Forges- that's the symbol of Vulcan, I think. I mean- Hephaestus."

The girl, Nyssa, sighed. "If you have to beware the earth, I'm assuming you'll need air travel."

"Rosie's going to have to be careful with that," Annabeth muttered. "If Zeus shoots her out of the sky…"

Rosie snapped her head towards Annabeth. "Say what?"

Chiron waved her off. "She'll be fine so long as Jason is there."

"Was I really going to get shot out of the sky?"

"We have no air transport at the moment," Nyssa spoke over them. "With the dragon gone...I guess we can figure something out." She reluctantly added, "I volunteer for the quest."

Leo stood up. Rosie had totally forgotten he was there, which was not something she caught herself saying a lot when it came to Leo.

"I'm supposed to go," he announced in a slightly over dramatic tone.

His cabinmates exchanged uncomfortable looks. Some tried to shush Leo and pull him back down.

"No! No, seriously I am! I can fix the transportation problem, I _know _I can."

"Your move," Rosie muttered to Jason.

Jason said nothing for a moment, just studied Leo. Then, he smiled. "Okay, Leo. Find us a ride and we'll count you in."

Leo pumped his fist triumphantly. "Road trip!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"It'll be dangerous," Nyssa warned him bluntly. "Lots of suffering. You may even die."

"Oh. Suffering..." Leo's face fell, and Rosie was suddenly regretting her decision. "I mean-fun! Suffering! Suffering's my middle name…"

Annabeth nodded. "Okay, Jason, one more member. The dove-"

"I volunteer!" Drew stood up with a sickening smile. "The dove is Aphrodite, so I'm totally coming."

Rosie felt herself go into a panic. There's no way she was going to go on the quest if Drew was going.

Piper quickly stepped forward, the panic clearly etched on her face. "No!"

Drew scoffed. "Back off."

"Hera appeared to me," Piper shot back. "I need to go on the quest."

"So?" Drew spat. "That means nothing. Look, it's the perfect team. I got the charm, Jason has the fighting skills, and…" she trailed off, glancing at Rosie and Leo in disdain. "I guess you two will do."

Rosie and Leo exchanged annoyed looks. She had to admit- Drew was persuasive. Annoying, but persuasive.

Annabeth hesitated. "I mean, I guess it-"

"No!" Piper insisted. "I have to go."

Rosie found herself nodding- she agreed with her friend. It seemed like others around her thought the same.

"What can you even do?" Drew sneered at her.

Piper's face fell. "Well…"

Suddenly, Piper suddenly to glow. Rosie shielded her eyes from the bright light. When she removed them, she couldn't believe her eyes. Piper was _gorgeous_\- she always was, but she usually drew attention away from it. This time, however, it was obvious. She was wearing a beautiful strapless white gown. Her makeup was done impeccably, and her hair looked more put together than Rosie had ever seen. She was absolutely radiant.

"What the…" Piper muttered, looking down.

Rosie couldn't help it- she started to laugh uncontrollably at the look of disgust on Piper's face. She knew her best friend was probably loathing this.

"Sorry-" Rosie apologized to the people staring at her for laughing. "It's just really, really ironic."

Jason had gone red to the tips of his ears. "Piper…" he gushed. "You look gorgeous."

Drew had gone pale. "That's not possible."

"Piper McLean," Chiron announced gravely. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."


	8. The Dragon Has a Grudge

As soon as the crowd dispersed, Rosie pretended to bump into Piper.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said in a mock serious tone. "I'm looking for my friend, Piper McLean, have you seen her?"

Piper pushed her. "Shut up! God, I look awful."

"Nooo, come on, you look beautiful, I'm just going to go crawl into the nearest dumpster," she shrugged nonchalantly.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Stop that."

Rosie motioned for Jason, who was standing by himself. "Hey, fellow freak, help me boost Piper's ego!"

Jason came up to them, an embarrassed smile on his face. "Hey."

"Hi," Piper gushed. Ah, yes, third wheeling. "Mr. Zeus, is it?"

Jason smiled. "Ha. Yeah. So, you really want to come?"

"I'm game," Piper said. "Nothing like breaking cages and freeing a scary manipulative woman."

"You cold Pipes?" Rosie asked in amusement, seeing Piper rub her arms vigorously.

"_Mother Dearest_ took my jacket," she complained.

Rosie laughed. "Wait, where do you think it went?"

"God, I don't want to know," Piper laughed, shaking her head.

Rosie slung her arm around Piper as the three of them walked towards the cabins.

"Road trip of the century," Rosie announced. "We've got snacks, songs, and even the possibility of death."

Piper poked her. "Come on, we'll make a good team. Even with Leo on it."

"Speaking of," Jason said. "Where is Leo?"

"Off getting our transportation, I hope," Piper muttered.

"He mysteriously disappeared into the forest," Rosie said dramatically. "And they never saw him again."

"That'd be a shame," Piper said flatly.

Jason smiled at the two of them. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow?" He said, cabin one in sight.

Piper squeezed his hand, a loving look in her eyes. "Night, Jason."

Rosie saluted him. "Goodnight, Our fearless leader."

"Night, you two."

Piper and Rosie continued to walk past the cabins.

"You realize you just walked past your cabin?" Piper asked her.

"Yup."

"Any reason for that?" Piper raised her eyebrows.

"Walking you to your cabin, duh."

"And why is that?"

"There could be monsters," she pointed out.

Piper smirked. "Really,"

"Piper-eating monsters."

"Don't love the sound of that."

"I mean, come on, we ladies have to be prepared for this quest. Who knows what we'll run into? Maybe monsters who talk during movies or ones who don't thank cashiers-"

"Did Jason say anything about me?" Piper interrupted.

"Uh,what?"

Piper sighed. "Things have just been so weird since I found out he isn't actually my boyfriend. Where do I go from there, you know? Is he my boyfriend or not? What do you think he thinks of Drew?"

"Uh…." Rosie didn't know what to say. She didn't think this issue really had to be discussed _right now_. Piper didn't even ask her about Poseidon or how her talk with Chiron went. "I mean, he seemed more concerned with the whole goddess wanting him as a prisoner-thing, but...you look gorgeous, Pipes. He'd be insane to not date you, even now."

She exhaled. "Okay, great."

"So. Really. Where do you think your clothes went?"

Piper rolled her eyes."Goodnight!" she called.

"Don't let the evil goddesses bite!" Rosie yelled out, turning back around towards Cabin 3.

Maybe, possibly, there was some evil part of her that had hoped that with this fake-memories-of-Jason thing, it could be a fresh start for Rosie and Piper. No boyfriend dragging them down, just Rosie and Piper being their stupid selves together.

This was all stupid Hera's fault- she had Rosie doubting everything. She couldn't even believe her own memory- she felt a fraction of the frustration Jason must be feeling.

How had Hera done it? Rosie realized she was a goddess, but she had made everything seem _so real. _

She thought about Piper and Jason, how their whole relationship was crafted on a lie. The memory seemed so real, yet so dull and normal for a day at Wilderness.

_They had spent the entire gym class doing sprints._

_Rosie had turned to Piper, panting and sweaty, clutching her side. "So. What's the excuse today? I'm thinking PMS with a side of internal bleeding. Maybe throw in some chronic wrist pain."_

_Piper suddenly inhaled sharply, grabbing onto Rosie and digging her fingernails into her arm- hard._

"_Ouch, what-"_

"_Who is that?" She whispered in an urgent tone, pulling Rosie behind a bush so Hedge wouldn't see them._

"_Ow, Piper-"_

"_Pay attention!" She snapped. "Who is that over there? Talking to Leo?"_

"_That's Jason, I told you- Leo's roommate- Pipes, please-" she gasped. "My arm-vital part of my body-"_

"_Oh my god! You didn't tell me he was hot! Leo has a hot roommate..." she dug into Rosie's arm harder._

"_Come on-Pipes-" Rosie gritted through her teeth, wiggling out of her grasp. "Let's not discount those gorgeous burgundy frames Chester had."_

"_So, what's he like? Tell me everything."_

"_Um. Rigid. Seems weirdly perfect. Blissfully unaware of what Leo's going to be like a roommate."_

"_Can you introduce us? Maybe we could go to Leo's room, and you guys could find a reason to leave us alone? Maybe Leo sets himself on fire or something?"_

_Rosie gave her a confused look. "And you two go on to have a normal conversation while I tackle Leo to the ground?"_

"_Okay, so we're brainstorming!" She said, frustrated. _

_Rosie stood up from behind the bushes. "Hey! Jason, Leo! This is Piper!"_

_Piper shot her a look. "Oh my God. I hate you."_

"_Go ahead, Pipes. I'll be here, in this bush, watching creepily from afar. Remember me when you're in love," she said dramatically._

This memory seemed to mock her now- like Hera knew her insecurity: _you fear being abandoned by Piper, one of your best friends? Perfect, here's a memory of that on replay!_

Cabin 3 smelled like high tide-so, disgusting. Rosie didn't like the fact that she was alone in the cabin- it reminded her of when she was 13, sleeping in cardboard boxes and empty warehouses. But she was safe- for now.

Something caught her eye on the floor- it was a cube. A Rubix cube. Rosie looked at it with shock. She didn't think she had brought it with her to camp. Last she saw it, it was sitting on her desk in her dorm room..it wasn't hers. It had been, originally, until it quickly became clear that Max was much more interested in it.

She wasn't sure how it was here. But she was so grateful for it. Rosie picked it up, smiling at the one side that was unsolved. Rosie had left it like that, the day she took it from his room…

Rosie curled up in a bed that didn't feel comfortable or welcoming. She wasn't sure how she was going to sleep that night: she already battled insomnia...add in a dangerous quest to look forward to?

She ran her hand over the jagged surface of the Rubix cube. She tried to place herself in Max's shoes, wondering how he would react to this. It was too hard, though. She already had trouble understanding him in the first place. Now, on top of that, she felt so far removed from him…

_Ten Years Ago_

_Max was born that May. Rosie was initially disappointed it wasn't a girl, but the disappointment went out the window as soon as she saw Max. It felt like he was hers, like a living doll. They had the same blue eyes, the similarity Rosie used to share with her dad._

_She could almost pretend things were happy again._

_Except for her mom._

_Over the years, it was like someone was slowly sucking the happiness out of her. Rosie tried cracking every corny joke in the book to get her mom to smile- nothing. She just didn't smile anymore. She was sharp, and withdrawn._

"_Rosie, don't do that," she told her sternly one day. Rosie was entertaining Max in the bath, by making the water splash him in the face and creating funny shapes._

_She was more protective, too. Rosie couldn't go anywhere without her mother or Buzz. Her mother didn't like her swimming anymore, unless she was under her watchful eye._

_Rosie begged her mother to take them to the beach, disappointed that her thirteenth birthday had come and gone with nothing. No beach day._

_Her mother finally gave in, taking off work for the day to bring Rosie and Max down to the shore for the day._

_Rosie wasn't sure if Max would like it. They were sitting on their beach blanket. Max was fiddling with his rubix cube- he loved the thing, and carried it everywhere with him. He was autistic, and it helped to fidget with things._

"_We have to go home soon," Her mother warned. "I think it's going to rain."_

_Rosie thought she was right- the sky was turning an ominous color._

"_Wait! I have to take Max down to the shore!"_

_Her mother sighed. "I don't know, Rosie-"_

"_Please, mom? I'll watch him, I promise."_

_Her mom hesitated but nodded. "I'll pack up the blanket."_

_She wasn't going to push Max past his breaking point. She held his hand as he cautiously dipped his toe in the ocean, squealing when it came rushing past their ankles._

"_Fun, right?" She said._

_Max smiled._

"_You can't protect him, Rosie Reiger,"_

_A shiver ran down her spine. That voice. What was that? Rosie nervously glanced around._

"_Max, did you hear that-"_

"_You will both die."_

Rosie woke up with a jolt, kicking the air. Light was streaming through the one window of Cabin 3- it was morning.

She sighed- she didn't want to go into the quest thinking about Max. Whenever she did, it was much harder to keep her emotions in check, which lead to...things. Bad things.

_Okay, none of that, _she told herself. _It's quest day! Fun...with a possibility of death!_

She went outside the cabin, wondering what the breakfast at Camp would be like. She hoped they would have coffee. She thought about maybe stopping by Cabin 10 and seeing if Piper was awake.

That was, until she saw the dragon.

Maybe she should've looked into getting glasses.

But, no- it was a dragon.

She shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe he had done it.

"Idiot." she said to him as the dragon landed.

Leo grinned at her from above, looking slightly like a mad scientist on the verge of breakdown. A camp alarm started blaring. Rosie noticed panicked satyrs start to run around screaming their heads off.

"You like?" Leo asked, gesturing to the dragon. Campers started running out of cabins, most of them wearing a mix of pajamas and armor.

"Dragon-wielding idiot," she called him.

Rosie noticed some campers from Apollo start to aim their bows at the dragon. Leo held his arms up. "Whoa! Hey! I come in peace! Don't shoot!"

Campers shifted around nervously. They all seemed too nervous to approach Leo, and his friend.

She couldn't believe the size of the thing-it was easily sixty-feet-long. Its' wings? Twice as long. The dragon's coat of scales glistened in the sun, almost making it impossible to look at directly. The dragon's laser-red eyes focused on Rosie.

The dragon tilted its head back and roared, letting out a stream of fire into the sky. Campers screamed and ran for cover, as Leo calmly slid down the dragon's back and stood next to Rosie. He looked crazy-well, crazier than usual. He was covered in grease and soot (gross), and by the look of his eyes he didn't sleep all night. His hair was sticking up in crazy places, and maybe she was imagining it, but he smelled vaguely of Tabasco sauce.

"It's OK-AY!" Leo announced, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Festus is a friend! He is saying hello!"

"You named it? Now, it'll never leave," she joked.

"Someone shoot that thing!" a voice said. "It's dangerous!"

"Hey, come on guys!" Rosie said dramatically. "Leo is crazy but we have to accept him, it's the only way!"

"Stand down!" came a powerful voice. Everyone turned to see Jason push through the crowd, followed by a posse of Annabeth, Nyssa, and Piper.

"Oh, look at me, I'm Jason, I have a powerful voice," Leo muttered, slightly upset his dramatic entrance was upstaged.

Jason laughed at the dragon in amazement. "I can't believe you found us a ride...I mean I didn't think it would be a _dragon_."

"First class ride, anyone?" Leo beamed.

Nyssa shook her head in slight disbelief. "I can't believe it Leo-are those _wings_?"

"Yup," Leo looked at Festus with pride. "I found them and reattached them."

"It never had wings, though. Where did you find them?"

Leo hesitated. Rosie immediately recognized his face- he was hiding something.

"Um." He paused. "In... the woods. Repaired his circuit board for the most part, too, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"For the most part?" Nyssa asked, sounding skeptical.

"He still has a few quirks," Leo shrugged.

Nyssa looked awed. "How did you even survive? Doesn't he have fire breath?"

Leo's face slightly drained of color. "Fast. Or lucky- I don't know, you pick."

Jason looked at Festus with an amused look. "Did you know Festus means happy in Latin?"

Rosie rolled her eyes to Piper. "Here he goes again with the nerd thing,"

Jason shrugged. "I just think it's funny. He wants us to ride off to save the world on a dragon named Happy."

Festus flapped his wings vigorously.

Leo grinned. "Festus likes that! Let's get moving, people! I got some supplies-from, er- the woods. I think Festus is a little nervous around all these weapons."

Jason frowned. "Are we sure? I mean, do we even know-"

"Go," Annabeth told him. "You guys only have three days, after all. Festus is ready. Go!"

Jason nodded tightly. He looked at Rosie and Piper. "You guys ready?"

Rosie grinned. "I want a window seat."

Piper smiled. "Let's do this."

Jason climbed onto Festus' back, settling into the fourth seat. He held out a hand to Piper, who slid in right before him.

Rosie approached Festus. Festus growled at her, and for a second, she thought he was going to slice her into pieces with those sharp talons of his. She nervously jumped.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed. "Buddy, I was literally just defending you!"

Festus shuddered.

"I don't know what you said to your dragon," she told Leo. "But he hates me."

"Hey, bud," Leo told him, patting his head. "She's a friend."

Rosie and Leo both jumped out of the way as Festus released fire, just slightly avoiding being burnt to a crisp.

Leo shrugged. "Ah, well, I tried," he said. "After you, Freckles!"

"Awesome," she muttered, climbing onto Festus and sitting in front of Piper. "I can now see why I'm going to be shot out of the sky."

And just like that, they were off.


	9. Creepy Dreams and Childhood Traumas

She thought it would've been colder with how high they were. Instead, Festus was like a furnace, hot to the touch and generating heat.

It wasn't as bumpy or as terrible as the chariot ride to camp that had made her want to throw up. Still, Festus made her nervous. She was certain that the moment she let her guard down, Festus would pitch her off into the depths of Connecticut.

Leo turned around with his signature shit-eating grin. "Isn't this epic?" He shot Rosie a disgusted look. "Ew, Freckles, you're all green,"

"I'm fine. All good, " she muttered, trying not to look down. She'd focus on whatever was in front of her-which was, unfortunately, Leo.

"Ugh, your hair's in my mouth," came Piper's muffled voice.

Rosie whipped her head to the side. "My bad, Pipes! But I think my hair has never looked better!"

"Question!" Piper yelled over the flapping of Festus' wings. "How are people down below not freaking out over a sixty foot dragon in the sky?"

"The Mist," Jason called out. Despite only being a 'Piper' away from Rosie, he sounded faraway and tinny. "They'll probably see us as a plane or something."

Leo pulled on Festus' reins, causing the dragon to happily squeal mechanically and ascend even higher. Rosie's stomach lurched, and she quickly wrapped her arms around Leo's hips. She noticed a tool belt around his waist, one he must've acquired when he found Festus.

"You in need of some Valdez snuggles, Freckles? I thought it was already pretty warm up here, but-"

"Shut up," she told him, quickly removing her arms from him. Thank god he was facing forward-no way for him to see her probably now red face. "Just wondering if you even have a license to operate this thing-"

Festus did not like this comment. He ferociously kicked his back upward, causing all four of them to jump up a little in their seats. Rosie's stomach seemed to jump into her throat.

"Ah!" Piper screamed, digging her fingers into Rosie's shoulders. "Rosie, you made him mad, take it back!"

Rosie was now clutching tightly to Leo, eyes closed, as Leo muttered, "Whoa, whoa, boy, it's okay!" She heard him sigh. "Is that enough of a license for you, Freckles?"

"Okay. I apologize to it," she gritted through clenched teeth.

Jason cleared his throat. "Um, I believe Festus needs to hear you say that."

"Oh my god, I hate you." She warily opened her eyes and slowly let go of Leo. She sighed, reluctantly saying, "I'm sorry, Festus. That was wrong of me."

Steam shot out of his nose.

"Anyways," Jason said nervously, no doubt scared she was going to get them killed. "We're making good time. I think we'll make it by the evening."

"Where exactly are we going?" Piper asked.

"Quebec City." Jason said. "We have to find the god of the North Wind, Boreas. And some storm spirits. Since this whole thing started with them, I'm assuming we can trace them back to Hera."

Quebec City? Oh god, she hoped that didn't mean….

"Um, are we by any chance going through Maine?" she asked, failing at a nonchalant tone.

Leo snorted. "Someone's been working on their geography."

"Hey,wait, aren't you from there?" Piper asked her. She didn't answer.

Leo bounced a little in his seat excitedly. "Hey, you're right! Birthplace of Rosie Reiger!"

Piper started chanting. "Detour, detour!" Leo joined in.

"We're not stopping," Rosie cut in. "Back me up on this, amnesiac boy." She figured she could rely on Jason to keep the group on track.

"She's right." Jason spoke up. "We need to move fast." Rosie shot him a grateful look over her shoulder, one that Piper stuck her tongue out at.

"Rightttttt," Leo said from the front. "We have to find- what, the God of Boring?"

"Boreas," Piper corrected. "The God of the North Wind."

"We have to find out everything we can from Boreas," Jason said. "Then, we'll worry about finding those storm spirits that attacked us at the Canyon."

"Um, and why exactly are we _looking_ for these guys?" Rosie asked. "I seem to recall those ventis being vicious."

"Can we stop calling them that?" Leo asked, shuddering slightly. "It makes me think of evil espressos."

"Evil espressos making you feel depresso?" she asked him.

"One move and you're off, Freckles. Don't test me."

"So you and Festus _are _in cahoots-"

"Why did we let you two sit together?" Piper complained.

"I feel like I'm leading a pack of blind mice," Jason muttered to himself. "I'm giving out important, vital information here but please, carry on guys."

"_So,_ we're finding storm spirits? Is that basically the plan, are we all in agreement?" Piper summarized.

"Well…" Jason hesitated. "I think there may be a wolf involved. But she may be friendly. I think. Hopefully. I wouldn't show weakness, though."

"Exuding a lot of confidence there, bud," Rosie quipped. She secretly hoped Jason would go into more detail about the wolf- maybe it was the same wolf she saw in her dream.

"Where does the wolf come in, though?" Piper asked.

Jason sighed. "I had a dream with one in it. There was a she-wolf in it, one that...I don't know, but it felt like I knew her. We were at this swimming pool, with these two spires that kinda...erupted from the ground. I saw Hera there, trapped. I think the spires were sucking her of her energy and power. The wolf- I think her name is Lupa- she said the enemy picked that place to awaken her son- the 'giant king'. She called it the burned house."

For a second, no one said anything. Rosie tried to place the name Lupa- but it meant nothing to her. She couldn't deny, however, that their dreams were connected somehow. Lupa was most definitely in her dream. Somehow, this wolf connected Percy and Jason. How? And what did that have to do with her? She didn't know.

"Sooo." Leo finally broke the awkward silence. "I'm guessing you don't know the location of this house."

"No." Jason sounded disappointed.

"This wolf." Rosie's voice came out shaky. "You think you know her?"

"I think so, why?"

Rosie took a breath. These were her friends. She had to trust them. "About a week ago, I had a dream about Hera. It definitely mentioned her being in a cage, and-and there was a wolf there too. Mine didn't talk, though. Or maybe it did? I don't know, ask me again when we're _on the ground_. As much I wish it was a coincidence, I'm assuming it's not. Oh, and small thing, really- there was some creepy voice in it...probably the enemy Lupus is referring to." At the last second, she decided to omit Percy from the telling of her story. After all, who knows if that was even him?

"Lupa," Piper corrected. "So it sounds like this wolf is definitely the key to finding the enemy- or at least a pathway to finding the enemy."

"Goody," Leo muttered. "Needing help from a wolf who senses weakness."

She noticed Jason said nothing about her dream. She realized he probably knew that she withheld information about Hera, back at the Big House. Rosie gulped nervously.

"You mentioned a giant king, Jason." Piper said. "That's definitely related to the prophecy, right? I mean, it clearly said the _giants'_ _revenge_."

"Multiple giants?" Leo asked, sounded annoyed. "Like more than one we have to defeat?"

"No chance it's the _BFG_?" Rosie asked. "The _Big Friendly Giant_?"

"I don't…." Piper frowned. "I don't know, guys. I feel like I've read something about an army of giants in Greek stories. An evil army, Rosie."

"Figures it's an army," Leo said. "Do you remember anything specifically about them, Pipes? Was this for that Greek mythology movie your dad did?"

"Piper, your dad is an actor?" Jason asked. A subtle reminder that they weren't a ragtag group of best buds; rather, that Jason was basically a stranger to them.

"We're really back to this?" Leo complained.

"Sorry?" Jason said.

Rosie could feel Piper stiffen behind her. "Doesn't matter. Anyways, um- if I'm thinking of the right giants...it's not good. Actually, really very bad. I remember my dad telling me that they could throw mountains. They were related to...to the Titans! I think. Back at camp, Rachel was telling me that the 2nd Great Prophecy would predict something _worse_ than the Titans...that would make sense with the giants."

Rosie sighed. "Anyone have any news that isn't depressing? I personally was feeling pretty good until Piper mentioned the mountain throwing."

"My bad," she apologized.

Leo sighed loudly. "Hate to be that guy, but if we're getting everything all out, I should probably mention my psycho babysitter." Rosie nearly choked on the air.

"Please tell me that's one of your bizarre jokes," Piper moaned.

"Wish it was, Pipes. Anyways, disclaimer before I tell the story: I like to think I'm not crazy-for the most part. Up to you guys, obviously, but just keep that in mind. So, geez, where to begin ...I had this babysitter when I was younger. Tía Callida. Ancient old hag. Actually smelled like ham- haven't been able to eat ham since."

"You scarfed down seven pieces of bacon the other day," Rosie muttered.

Leo shushed her. "I've got the metaphorical talking stick, Freckles. Back to my story, I'm dead positive Tía was Hera. Growing up, she'd always call me her 'little hero', and made me perform all sorts of weird tests. To prove it, I guess. She let me play with knives when I was, like, three. My mom was not a fan of that."

The thought of Leo playing with knives at three years old weirdly made sense.

"Then there was a whole rattlesnake incident- don't ask. Anyways, I was about five when the wind just...snatched away this picture I really liked. I'm not an artist, but it would've challenged Van Gogh- just saying. And Tía Callida was completely weird about it- all like 'not yet my little hero' and 'you'll have a quest one day'! And maybe it was a hallucination, but I'm like 99% sure I saw her at camp…"

"So my mom…" Rosie knew a little about Leo's mother- none of her friends, herself included, really liked to delve into family history. But she knew little things- his mom was a mechanical engineer, and had a shop in Houston, where Leo grew up. Frankly, she sounded pretty awesome.

She also knew that Leo's mom died in a fire in her machine shop. She didn't think Leo ever meant for that come up. It was an accident, one that happened when it was just Rosie and Leo in Rosie's dorm room back at Wilderness. They were on the floor doing their math homework when Rosie had noticed him tapping- tapping out Morse Code to be exact.

Rosie's mom and Buzz had taught her how to do Morse code when she was a kid- she and her mom would use flashlights to write messages between their bedrooms during the night. She couldn't help but notice Leo tap out "I love you," time and time again. She didn't bring up the Morse code, just discreetly asked him about his mom, since she figured that was who taught Leo how to do Morse code. He told her about his mom's death, and in turn, she had told him about what happened with Max. Neither of them brought it up after that.

Leo took a breath. "My mom died. Her, uh...machine shop collapsed. Unstable infrastructure. And, the night she died...okay, this is the part that's going to sound really weird. On the night she died...there was this sleeping dirt women who showed up and talked to me. Sleeping earth woman. I guess. She said she couldn't destroy me yet...but to remember that night when the Fates ask me to oppose her."

No one spoke. For one thing, Rosie was confused why Leo lied about his mother's death. She then quickly realized she couldn't judge- her friends only knew a fraction of her story. It hit her that everyone on Festus right now, in a different way, was a liar. They all had their secrets.

Second off, Leo's story was ...disturbing, to say the least. It made her angry. Stupid Hera had been intervening in all of their lives, without any of them giving her permission.

"That's ...messed up." She finally broke the silence.

"Yeah. Basically. I'm just wondering guys...why are we helping Hera? She hates demigods, and the prophecy itself said we'd cause her death if we unleashed her rage ...which she has a lot of. I just don't know why we'd want to help her…"

"We were chosen." Jason spoke up from the rear. "I don't know why, but Hera chose us. We're apart of the eight, the eight demigods who need to come together for the Great Prophecy. This quest is only the start."

Leo didn't argue with that, but Rosie knew what he was thinking: _We didn't ask to be chosen._

"And…" Jason continued. "I want my memory back. You guys are awesome, and I really wish I had been at school with you...but I need it back, and helping Hera is the only way. And that spire, in my dream? If it's able to unleash a king of giants by destroying Hera-"

"Bad." Piper agreed. "Really bad. She keeps the gods together, you know? Annabeth mentioned that they're already having communication problems with Olympus...if we don't help her, and instead get into a war with the giants, it could be...destructive."

"And what about that ancient evil magic Chiron mentioned?" Rosie asked. She shuddered. "On the solstice? I remember because he kept using the word stirring, which was pretty annoying. What if this enemy is trying to awaken something on that day by sacrificing Hera? And what about Dylan's mistress?"

"Maybe the sleeping lady?" Leo offered. "I'd rather not see her awake."

"Do you think she has something to do with the giants? Who even is she?" Jason asked.

Leo shrugged. Rosie could tell he was shaking slightly.

No one seemed too in the mood to talk after that. If anything, that conversation made her more confused. It seemed like a puzzle with too many moving parts: Hera. Lupa. An evil mistress. Giants. Dirt Woman.

She thought about Leo's story. She felt terribly: he was only eight. She also felt anger; what was with Hera and messing with young kids? She seemed to prey off the young and weak, the vulnerable.

After all, she had only been thirteen.

_Two Years Ago_

_She was cold._

_So, so cold._

_But that didn't matter to her. All she could think about were the sirens._

_The sirens were deafening. _

_It was all her fault._

"_Rosemary."_

_A single, regal voice floated into the air._

_Rosie shivered, huddling closer to the dumpster. The tears kept flowing. She would try wiping her face, but her hands couldn't stop shaking. _

"_Come on, Rosemary," the voice said sternly. "Come out here right now."_

_Rosie placed her hands on the cold concrete, slowly crawling out in the light. A woman was standing in front of her. She looked scary; Rosie didn't want to get any closer to her. She had long, dark flowing hair, paired with a serious expression on her face. Her face was partially concealed by a dark shawl. She wore a long dark robe, one so long that Rosie couldn't see her feet._

_Rosie hoped this woman wouldn't yell at her for being so dirty._

"_Now, now, Rosemary," She admonished, shaking her head. "Look what you've done."_

_Rosie sobbed. "I didn't mean to hurt all those people."_

_The woman shook her head disapprovingly at her. "You hurt them, Rosemary. How are you supposed to be a hero when all you do is hurt?" _

_Rosie placed her head into her hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." She didn't know any better._

_She wanted the woman to believe her. _

"_Get up."_

"_Please don't make me go back."_

_She had no home anymore, no family. _

"_Follow me, little hero. Follow me or you'll never be forgiven."_

_So, she got up._

_And she followed. _

She hated her. She tried not to dwell on the ugliness of hatred; it made things worse. But she knew it: She hated Hera. It was one thing to mess with her. But with each one of her friends? The only family she had left? Unacceptable.

She tapped Leo on the shoulder. "Hey. Not that the bloodshot eyes aren't a cute look, but you should get some sleep."

"You won't push me off?"

"Nah." She gave him a playful shove. "Besides, there's a chance Festus would destroy me if I did."

"Fair point," he said. "Thanks." He leaned against Festus' neck, and was out like a light.

She grinned over her shoulder at Piper and Jason.

"Looks like I'm the captain now."


	10. Ice, Ice, Baby

"Do you think this thing has GPS?" Rosie asked Jason and Piper. Like any good road trip, eventually there was that thought: are we there yet? "Like, how does it know where to go?"

"Magic," Piper grumbled tiredly. "Mixed with Leo's madness."

Jason frowned. "Is he still sleeping? I mean, are we sure he's breathing?"

Rosie shrugged. "I've been checking every few minutes. He's probably fine."

"I got a feeling, guys." Piper said.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"We're close. I can sense it."

Rosie turned and raised her eyebrows at Piper. "Wow, children of Aphrodite are humans GPSes? I had no idea."

Piper groaned. "You know what I mean. This LA girl is getting cold. We're near Quebec. I can tell."

"You've been cold since Massachusetts. I'm not buying it, McLean."

Suddenly, Festus started to fly downward, rapidly descending towards the ground.

Jason laughed. "I think that settles it. Good job, Piper."

Piper laughed triumphantly. "Ha! Take that, Rosie."

"Whatever," she grumbled. She felt like whispering in the dragon's ear, "_Et tu, Festus?"_". "There's no doubt in my mind this dragon is against me."

"I personally think he has great taste," Piper gloated.

"Hey, Pipes? Do me a favor and be quiet." Then, Rosie shook Leo's shoulder. "Wake up. Welcome to Canada, eh?"

Leo stirred, sleepily rubbing his eyes. "Not even on the ground yet, and you've made a Canada pun."

The city of Quebec sat on a cliff, overlooking a river. It was a snowy wonderland, the frigid air making Rosie wish Festus _was _actually a furnace. It was a city that made her feel like they traveled back in time- it felt medieval. At the center of the city was a building that looked like a castle.

"Please tell me we're not in the North Pole," Leo groaned.

"Nope," Piper told him. "Welcome to Quebec City. One of the oldest cities in North America."

"Your dad did a movie about Quebec?"

Piper pushed him. "Unlike you, Leo, I _can_ read. I'm not some Aphrodite airhead."

"Hey, beauty queen, I can read. If you're so smart, what's that castle?"

"A hotel."

Leo scoffed. "Sure, Pipes."

Rosie cut in. "Hey, don't make fun of our extremely smart tour guide."

Piper shook her head. "I never claimed to be the Quebec _expert_-"

Jason jumped in. "You guys? She's right."

Festus slowly approached the hotel from above- Rosie figured it was the type of place that would _never _let them in. Doormen carried luxurious luggage from guests in fancy winter coats.

"Guys," Jason warned. "We're not alone."

Festus hastily halted, baring his talons angrily.

"Relax, okay, buddy? It's okay," Leo told him.

She couldn't quite tell what they were, but on the top of the hotel, on the roof, were two winged figures. They looked like angels, but something told her they were vicious ventis.

"Storm spirits?" Piper asked shakily.

Jason sighed. "I don't think so…"

Jason was right. As Festus got closer, it became quite clear they weren't exactly ventis. They looked more solid, maybe more like your traditional Canadian teens, despite the fact that they had icy white hair and feathered wings.

Canadian Teen #1 (as Rosie decided she would call him) could've been a football linebacker with his size- if it wasn't for the hockey gear. He had on a red hockey jersey, sweatpants, and cleats. She wondered if he was an aggressive hockey player, for he had a black eye and seemed to be missing several teeth.

Canadian Teen #2 made Rosie want to go up to him and say, "Oh my god, Freddie Mercury, I love your work!". He had a god-awful mullet, along with pointy shoes and pants that Rosie wish weren't so tight. He also had a bad case of acne. The two of them looked like two brothers with extremely different hobbies.

Seeing Festus come closer, the two of them had their swords at the ready.

Number #1 raised his sword and shook his head at them. "You're not allowed to enter!"

"Yeah?" Leo said. "And who says so?" Someone else should've been doing the talking, in Rosie's opinion.

Number #2 scoffed. "This is a restricted area." He had a thick French accent, one she had to strain to hear.

"Oh boy," Number #1 said, showing off his missing teeth. "This means we can destroy!"

"Not so fast!" Leo cried. "My friends and I… would at least like to know who exactly has the honor to destroy us."

"Cal!" said Number #1. "Cal does."

Rosie grinned at him. "And you must be Cal. What's that short for, calligraphy?"

"Calais," explained Number #2. "My brother. He cannot say words with more than two syllables- eloquent he is not, but you should try his pizza."

"Pizza!" Cal said. "I am Cal. This is Zethes! Brother!"

"Zethes, that's pretty, what is that, French?" It felt like Rosie and Leo were teasing people at Wilderness again, the good ole days.

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm," Zethes said. "But no matter. I am Zethes. You may call me Zethes. Except for you, miss-" he wiggled his eyebrows at Piper. "You, my dear, you can call me whatever you like."

Piper made a choking noise. "I think Zethes ...is just fine. Suits you." She gagged.

Zethes blew her a kiss. "Whatever you'd like, dear. We Boreads are fluent in the language of love."

"Boreads?" Jason, clearly not concerned that Zethes was going to steal his girl, cut in. "Are you by any chance related to Boreas?"

"Fan of our work then, eh?" Zethes looked proud. "We are gatekeepers for our father. Which is why we cannot let you in. This dragon is gonna scare away business! Just look at the poor mortals."

He was right- mortals were looking up at Festus, not quite alarmed but seemingly confused.

Zethes held his hands up. "So sorry there's nothing we can do. Unless it's an emergency landing. Otherwise, I guess we'll just destroy you. That's much more fun anyways."

"Wait!" Piper cried. "We do need an emergency landing." Her voice was filled with confidence.

Zethes gave her a confused look. "And why do you say that, pretty girl?"

She gave him a tight smile. "We just _have _to see your father Boreas! It's an emergency!" Rosie wasn't sure how she did it, but she sounded _very _convincing.

Zethes frowned. "An emergency? I would hate to…" he sighed. "My sister would _freak _out if we let you-"

"Our dragon is going to explode!" Piper cried. Leo's eyes went wide.

Festus committed to this role- his entire body shuddered, spewing black oil out of his ear.

"Explode!" Cal yelled cheerfully.

Zethes grinned at Piper. "Then this is an emergency!" Father will not be happy, but we can explain. Let the exploding dragon follow us."

Leo turned around to the three of them. "We've made friends! Should I follow?"

Jason hesitated, but nodded. "I guess so. We've come all this way."

Zethes and Cal directed them to what appeared to be the penthouse of the hotel. The place gave her chills-literally. The entire room was covered in a layer of frost- it made everything look pristine and a bit terrifying. It was huge; the room they were currently in had several staircases leading to different halls.

"Great place you guys got here!" Leo exclaimed.

Jason shook his head. "I don't feel good about this," he muttered. "Everything is…."

"Fancy with a side of frozen?" Rosie asked.

Festus sneezed, causing flames to sputter onto the carpet.

Zethes frowned. "Unacceptable!" He cried. "No, no ...we cannot have fire. You need to deactivate your little friend here."

Festus bared his teeth.

"Well, on the bright side, I think I moved down to number two on Festus's enemy list," she muttered to Piper.

Leo looked at Zethes. "_Deactivation's _not a great word to use around him. But, hey, no problem- I've got a solution."

"Destroy!" Cal exclaimed.

Leo grimaced. "Er, not exactly. Watch and learn, friends." Leo placed his hand behind Festus' left foreleg, rummaging for something. He pulled a switch. Suddenly, Festus folded neatly, into a weird compact of dragon parts, one that looked like a suitcase.

"How did you even figure that out?" Piper asked.

Leo shuddered. "He has a lot of buttons in places you would _not_ expect there to be buttons."

Piper held up a hand. "Say no more."

"I think that's my favorite form of Festus," Rosie said. "I guess I prefer the Transformer side."

Leo tried to lift the box, his face scrunched up in pain. "Ow. Yeah. Plan B."

Another button was pushed, producing a handle and wheels.

Leo grinned. "Heaviest carry-on bag, am I right?"

Jason observed it. "How is that even possible? I mean, something that big-"

"Enough!" Zethes and Cal both drew swords, aiming them at Leo.

Leo held up his hands. "Whoa, Whoa, guys, come on now, what'd I do?"

"Who sent you?" Zethes sneered. "Spy for the South Wind, perhaps?"

"What?" Leo said, confused. "No, guys, come one, I'm a friend! Let's see, the name's Leo Valdez, I'm a cancer, son of Hephaestus, friendly guy-"

"Fire." Cal growled. "Fire smell. Bad."

"Um." Leo looked panicked. "Well. Yeah. I know my clothes are all singed, but-"

"Stupid demigod," Zethes spat. "We smell fire. The smell is coming from _you_."

She had to admit, Leo did smell a little...smoky, but she assumed that was from hanging out with Festus.

Beads of sweat formed on Leo's forehead. "Um-that's-I don't know…" He glanced at Jason, Rosie, and Piper. "Are you guys enjoying the show, or…"

Rosie rolled her eyes, stepping forward. "Leo's not a fire guy. Most likely to set someone or himself on fire? Yes-But a fire guy? No. Leo hasn't set any fires." She laughed to herself. "Ha- 'Leo Didn't Start the Fire'!"

No one laughed.

Jason came to their aid. "There's been some kind of mistake," he said soothingly. "Leo's not a fire guy. Tell them, Leo ..."

Leo nervously bit his lip. "Um…"

"Zethes?" Piper came forward, a sweet smile on her face. "We're friends, right? No need for weapons."

"You are beautiful," Zethes said reluctantly. "I, however, have other obligations before I romance you." He pointed the blade of his sword into Leo's chest, threatening to push it in. She saw a layer of frost spreading slowly from the sword to Leo's shirt.

"Hey." Jason sounded calm- she was really glad he was the leader. He was calm, but she knew if they had to, he could slide them into shish kebab. "We're no threats. We're just demigods: Leo's a son of Hephaestus, Rosie is a daughter of Poseidon. Piper over here is Aphrodite's daughter, and I'm Zeus' son."

Both the Boreads gasped, pointing their swords at Jason.

"You?" Zethes cried. "You're a son of Zeus?"

"Yes?" Jason sounded like he didn't know what the correct answer was. "Um-good thing, right?"

Cal looked confused. "Not Jason," he said. "Doesn't look the same."

"Nope," Zethes agreed. "Not our Jason. This Jason is poorly dressed-"

"Poorly dressed?" Jason exclaimed.

"And died millennia ago."

"Oh," Jason said. "You mean the original Jason? Like, the Golden Fleece one?"

Zethes nodded. "We were his crew-mates aboard the Argo. We were only silly demigods back then. We accepted immortality to serve our father. Our Jason died a mortal death-you can't be him."

"Yup. Not him."

"So ...destroy?" Cal asked.

Zethes sighed. "No, my brother, unfortunately not. We've been waiting for the son of Zeus- it could perhaps be him."

"Waiting for, in a good way?" Leo asked.

"That depends on my father," came a voice from the staircase.

The girl on the staircase was beautiful, with dark hair and unnaturally pale skin. However, she looked at the four of them with an extremely unfriendly expression. Ice-like, no pun intended.

"Father will want to see this Jason, son of Zeus," she said.

Zethes looked excited. "Is this the one we've been watching for?"

"Perhaps. Zethes, bring our guests."

Leo eagerly grabbed the suitcase handle.

"Except for you, Leo Valdez," the girl snapped.

"What? Why?" Leo whined.

Rosie looked from the ice queen to Leo, and then back again. It clicked for her, and she groaned. "Oh, god."

Piper snapped her head towards her. "What? What is it?"

"Kelsey Carmichael."

Piper looked at Leo, shaking her head. "You've got to be kidding me."

Kelsey Carmichael had been a student at Wilderness last year. Leo had liked her- a lot, despite not getting the hint from Kelsey that to her, he was worthless. It got pathetic watching him follow Kelsey around like a puppy despite her hating him. Poor kid never got the hint.

"Ice and fire don't go together, just like fire and water," she said with a disdainful expression on her face. "It wouldn't he a good idea to bring you near my father."

"That's not how this is going to work," Jason said, placing a protective hand on Leo's shoulder. "We go together or not at all."

The girl smiled coldly. "He won't be hurt, Jason Grace. That is, if you cooperate. My brother Calais will watch him."

The three of them looked over at Leo. She felt her fist clench. If they were going to mess with one of her friends, she was ready to fight.

Leo smiled weakly. "Go ahead, guys. I'll be fine."

"He'll be perfectly safe," the girl said. "Follow me, please. This way to King Boreas."

The journey upstairs was ...unfriendly, to say the least. Zethes kept looking at her a little too eagerly, like he was anticipating when he could turn her into a shish kebab. Could-use-some-sun girl would smile at them every once in a while, but the smile was cold and emotionless. At one point, Jason grabbed Piper's hand.

Shish kebab or third wheeling ...Shish kebab or third wheeling...some choices were truly hard.

Piper suddenly yelped, ripping her hand away from Jason's. They both looked shocked.

"Uh, you guys good?" She asked them.

Piper glared at the pale girl. "Did you just _freeze _your hands?"

"It's not good to express warmth here," she said.

"One big happy family," Rosie muttered under her breath.

"Can you believe her?" Piper whispered to her.

Rosie shrugged. "We have to play nice. It's fine."

Piper's face soured. She turned to Jason, the two of them having a whispering, private conversation.

The pale girl lead them to a set of oaken doors. She turned around to look at them. "This is my father's throne room. Be well behaved. He is quite…cold. I'll translate for you. Hopefully, he'll spare you. We could have great times together."

"Hopefully?" Rosie asked under her breath.

Jason laughed nervously. "We're just stopping in for a quick chat. Then, we'll leave."

The girl smiled. "I love heroes. You're all so innocent and stupid."

Piper played with her dagger angrily. "Who even are you?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't know me-the Greeks hardly know me well. I'm Boreas' daughter, Khione, goddess of snow. Now, come. My father awaits."


	11. Leo's Prom Date is Pissed Off

She wondered how long it would take for hypothermia to set in.

The throne room was colder than a meat locker. Scenes of snowy forests and winter wonderlands surrounded the wall. A fine layer of snow made a crushing noise under her shoes. Northern lights threaded the ceiling. Decorative sculptures lined the room, most of them being life-sized sculpture warriors in various positions of attack, with swords and guns and arrows and bows.

"These statues are a little too lifelike for my liking…" she frowned.

Khione laughed. "My father has great interior design taste, doesn't he?"

The statues held up their javelins menacingly for a second, and then placed them down.

"My father has given them orders not to kill you...just yet."

"Great," Jason muttered.

"Walk, Jason Jr," Zethes said, poking him in the back with a sword.

"I'd rather you not call me that," Jason muttered.

"Hey, Jason Junior, don't argue with him," Rosie said.

"My father is not patient," Zethes said. "And beautiful Miss Piper is losing her magic beauty fast- she is starting to look as plain as the other girl."

"Gee, thanks," Rosie said.

King Boreas wasn't cuddly-looking; he was more Jack Frost than Santa Claus. He was sitting on an ice throne, staring at them with an intense expression on his face. His hair and eyebrows were encrusted with frost, and his dark purple wings seemed to flutter with excitement.

"_Bienvenu,_" He said to them. "_Je suis Boreas le Roi. Et vous_?"

Just as Khione was about to speak, Piper started. "_Bonjour, votre majesté. Je suis Piper McLean. Et c'est Jason et Rosie."_

Jason and Rosie exchanged confused looks. Rosie had no idea Piper spoke French; Wilderness hadn't even offered French.

"Since when do you speak French?" She asked.

Piper blinked. "I don't."

"You just did," Jason explained.

"What?"

The king said something else in French, making Piper nod in agreement.

Khione pursed her lips. "My father says-"

"He says that since I'm the daughter of Aphrodite, French comes to me naturally. It's the language of love. Khione, he says you don't have to translate anymore," Piper interrupted.

Khione bowed stiffly to the king, shooting Piper a glare before stepping back.

The king conversed with Piper for a while. Piper told them that even though he was a Greek god, he preferred to speak the French language of his host country.

"He also says…." Piper's face fell.

"He says he has orders to kill you all," Khione piped in cheerfully.

Jason stiffened. "Why, exactly?"

The king smiled coldly. "My lord Aeolus has commanded it."

Boreas rose, coming towards them. Khione and Zethes bowed quickly, Piper and Jason both following suit. After a quick nudge from Piper, Rosie did the same.

"Since Ms. McLean spoke my language, I shall speak yours. I do enjoy the children of Aphrodite," he said, smiling at Piper. "As for the Daughter of Poseidon, I prefer to deal with the sky, but no matter. Jason, son of Zeus, I shall

hear you out first before killing you."

"Um. Boreas-I mean, your majesty," Rosie cut in. "Who exactly is Aeolus?"

"Master of the winds," Jason answered for him. "Why would he want to kill us?"

Boreas shrugged. "You demigods unleash chaos onto the winds, Aeolus' domain. He is especially angry at the battle with Typhon demigods had last summer."

A TV screen appeared in the air, depicting footage of a battle.

"When the gods first destroyed Typhon," he explained. "It unleashed several storm spirits- uncontrollable ones. Aeolus was told to track them down-no one helped. When he finally finished, Typhon was defeated again, repeating the cycle."

"Your Majesty," Piper pleaded. "Please don't punish the demigods for that."

Boreas frowned. "Taking it out on demigods is the only way he can get his revenge; the gods are too powerful. I must follow his orders: I will crush your mortal faces."

"While that sounds like a great offer, Your Majesty," Rosie said. "Maybe you can listen to Jason, first? Hear about our quest?"

"Well, of course," the king said. "I can only promise listening, however. Then, I may destroy you if I want."

Rosie blanked. "Um ...that sounds fair, I guess."

"Who knows," he said. "Maybe you'll be lucky to join my collection." He gestured to the statues.

Rosie's eyes widened. "Oh my god, these statues are _real_?!"

Boreas shrugged. "Probably."

Khione smiled at Jason. "Father, may I have that one as my statue?"

Zethes went, "What?! If Khione gets one, I get the daughter of Aphrodite!"

She felt slightly offended no one wanted her as a statue.

"Children, children, relax," the king ordered. "Please, Jason, your story."

Jason paused, looking hesitated.

"Here's the story-" Rosie cut in. "Our coach, who was half-goat-"

Piper quickly interrupted her, telling their whole story more eloquently than she could.

"We just need guidance from you, your majesty," Piper finished. "These storm spirits were working for an evil mistress, one that could perhaps lead us to Hera."

"I know these storm spirits," Boreas said. "And this half-goat they took."

"Wait," Rosie cut in. "Coach is still alive?"

"For now."

"Guys, that great," she said to Jason and Piper. "He's alive for now!"

Boreas shook his head. "But you'd be insane to face the one who controls them."

"But, Hera, sir," Jason argued. "A Giant is going to rise, maybe using her power to do so."

Boreas sighed. "I'm afraid this is only the beginning, demigods. When monsters don't stay in Tartarus and souls don't belong to Hades ...Zeus help us all."

"So…you'll help us?" Jason asked

"No."

"Your Majesty," Piper stepped forward with that uber confident voice of her. "If you help us, it's possible we can capture those storm spirits for Aeolus. Your boss will think highly of you. We could rescue our friend, Gleeson Hedge. Everyone wins."

Rosie snorted to herself. "Gleeson," she muttered. "Gets me everytime."

"Father, she's pretty and must be right," Zethes said.

Khione fumed. "She's charmspeaking, father! Don't listen to her."

Boreas' eyes widened. "You, demigod, what's that on your forearm?"

Jason reluctantly showed him the tattoo on his arm. Boreas laughed as he took it in. He started flicking, his clothes being replaced by a Roman toga, a crown of laurel upon his head.

"Aquilon," Jason muttered.

The god smiled. "I understand Hera's game now. She's a tricky one."

"Jason," Piper sounded nervous. "What's going on?" Rosie, too, wondered that.

"I don't know." Jason bit his lip.

"This will be entertaining to watch," Boreas mused.

"Entertaining, like you'll let us go?" Rosie asked.

Boreas laughed. "No need for me to kill you with Hera's plan. If it fails, you'll die anyway."

"That's...awesome."

"I finally have an opportunity to play a role in something...the gods hardly think I matter. With this, however, I can manipulate it. Yes, you may all go. The storm spirits will be found in the Windy City known as Chicago."

"Father!" Khione hissed. "What are you doing?!"

"Capture the winds, and perhaps you'll be granted access to Aeolus' court. Tell him you captured them on my orders."

"So is Chicago where the lady controlling the winds is?" Jason asked.

Aeolus laughed. "Ah, son of Jupiter, that's an entirely different question. But yes, she's in Chicago. She's only a servant, however, so she'll just want to destroy you. Aeolus is the real key to finding where Hera is imprisoned. Go, before I change my mind and freeze you all." Just like that, he was gone, dissolved in a cloud of snowy mist.

Khione hissed at them. "Follow me," She gritted through her teeth.

Cal had used the time with Leo to give him a slight makeover. He was wearing freshly washed clothes, and his hair was better kept than before. He lit up eagerly at the sight of Khione.

Khione gave the three of them an icy look. "You may have fooled my father, charmspeaker. Me, however? No. Rosie Reiger and Jason Grace, I will see you as statues in the throne room soon enough."

Jason scoffed. "You're just a spoiled princess," he rolled his eyes and walked away.

Rosie grinned. "See ya around, snowflake,"

Khione gave the three of them one final glare, before exploding into a blizzard.

"Don't mess with her," Zethes warned. "My sister doesn't forget insults. She will hardly let it go."

"Whatever," Jason said. "Worse comes to worst, we'll have a snowball fight."

Leo moaned. "Did you guys make her angry? Why is she mad? She was gonna be my prom date!"

"You're ridiculous," Rosie told him.

"Be careful in Chicago," Zethes said. "Your journey is only going to get worse."

Cal grunted in agreement. "Danger." He turned to Leo. "Next time- play hockey."

"Let's get out of here," Jason said.

They caught Leo up as they rode Festus, eating sandwiches made by Leo himself. Rosie didn't speak- she was too busy looking at the sunset, as it streaked the sky with glorious shades of red and yellow and orange.

"I can't believe it," Leo moaned. "I thought Khione looked so nice."

"We'll find you another prom date, dude," Jason apologized from the back.

"Yeah, I'm sure Cal would be up for it," Rosie told him cheerily.

"She could've been the one," Leo said, shaking his head.

"You said the same thing about Kelsey Carmichael," Rosie rolled her eyes. "You're fickle and fleeting, Valdez."

Piper snorted. "Remember when he changed to the lyrics of 'Come on Eileen' to 'Come on Kelsey'?"

Rosie laughed hard. "Oh my god, yes!"

Leo's ears turned red. "Can we not-"

Piper and Rosie started singing: "_Come on Kelsey, oh I swear (what he means). At this moment, you mean everything! You in gym class, sprinting on grass. You're so flirty, you mean everything!" _The two of them dissolved into giggles, as Leo turned beet red.

"Okay, enough of that," he said, moodily. Jason said nothing.

Festus seemed to mimic the mood of Leo- he was grumpy, occasionally spewing steam and once in a while shuddering in the cold air.

"I'm beat," Piper muttered. "Rosie, your shoulder is calling me for sleep."

"Go for it, Pipes."

As Piper slept slumped forward on her shoulder, the three of them rode in silence. She thought about what Boreas told him- mostly that Coach was still alive. That made her relieved- even though she had never liked that old goat. Still, she felt obligated to save him.

She thought of the burpees and suicides and push ups Coach made her do all the time. The time he made Rosie and Leo run two miles in class, while everyone else walked. Granted, they had been making fun of him, but still- was he trying to prepare them for demigod life? Just another thing to feel guilty about.

"Leo," she whispered to him. "About before. With the fire-"

Festus groaned mechanically.

"You good, boy?" Leo asked him.

Festus coughed, his limbs suddenly shaking spastically.

"Um-" Jason cut in. "What's going on up there? Did Rosie make him angry again?"

"I didn't do anything!"

Festus started shaking, making Rosie's entire body jittery.

"Um- just a little turbulence," Leo said, looking slightly panicked. "Nothing to worry about-"

"Leo," Jason warned him in a serious tone. "If we fall, we're going to reach terminal velocity and-"

"Yeah, thanks for that, Professor Grace," Rosie snapped at him.

Festus paused mid-air.

"See?" Leo said triumphantly. "He's fine!"

And then he flipped upside down.

She went screaming, dropping at what seemed to be an impossibly high speed. She tumbled through the air, vaguely catching glimpses of things: clouds, Festus going berserk, an occasional glance at one of her friends.

She fell past a now awake Piper, screaming out to her, "I hate flying!". She wasn't sure if her words were lost in the wind.

She hoped her splatting on the ground below would be quick and relatively painless.

Rosie gasped as a force knocked into her, crushing her ribs and knocking all the air out of her breath. The mass she crashed into was Jason's chest. Jason was grunting and holding Piper, supporting them with the wind.

"Hold on!" He told her.

She grabbed onto his shoulders. "I really hate air travel!"

"Going-" He gritted. "To get worse."

Worse? She didn't know what he meant, worse-

Rosie screamed right into Jason's ear as the three of them plunged rapidly towards Leo. They crashed into him at a high speed, Rosie cursing out in pain as Leo was sandwiched against her.

Leo was kicking and writhing, causing Jason to have trouble keeping them up.

"Dude, stop fighting! It's me!" Jason told him.

"Leo, that's my face!" Rosie angrily grumbled as Leo's arms hit her.

"We gotta get Festus!"

Fetus spun out of control, dissolving into a fireball and landing somewhere behind some buildings. Leo let out a loud sob.

Jason tried his best to keep them all up. They weren't so much gliding down as bouncing from air pocket to air pocket. He was sweating from the effort of keeping them up. Eventually, he grunted out, "I'm sorry-can't-" And he let go.

Crashing through a roof hurt- a lot. She landed on a soft mass, one that yelled, "OW!" Leo.

"Sorry," she mumbled, rolling off him.

"Is everyone alright?" She heard Jason's voice.

"Yeah, Leo broke my fall."

"Ribs may be broken," he complained under his breath, "but I'm fine, I guess."

"Piper?" Jason called out.

"Over-over here." Her voice sounded weak and in pain. "I-I think I broke my ankle."

"Coming!" Jason ran towards the sound of her voice.

Leo was moaning on the ground. "My dragon, my dragon…."

"He'll be fine," Rosie told him. "That's dragon's not going to go easily. Come on, let's find Piper."

They had landed in an abandoned warehouse, some kind of huge department store that had gone out of the business. Rosie couldn't help but feel an eerie sense of deja vu.

Jason was holding Piper's hand as she cried. They found her sitting under a banner, one that said _70% PERCENT OFF! EVERYTHING MUST GO!_

Rosie froze in her tracks. That banner- she recognized that banner.

_That's not possible…_ she thought to herself.

Her eyes focused on a chair behind Piper- the chair was green and inflatable, and Rosie couldn't believe she was looking at it.

She had been here before. It looked exactly the same…

"Ow," Piper panted. "God, it really hurts."

"Leo, do you still have that ambrosia?" Jason asked.

Leo silently pulled it out of his belt, handing it to Jason wordlessly.

"Thanks. Here you go, Piper." Jason fed it to Piper, who moaned in relief.

"Can I have more?" She asked.

"Later," he told her. "I think...I think we have to set your ankle."

Piper's eyes bugged out of her head.

"Oh, you're a doctor now, too?" Rosie asked, trying to put away the uncomfortable feeling of being back here.

"Ha Ha," He said weakly. "I think I've done it before. Could you guys help? Maybe...er, Hold her down."

"Hold me down?" Piper asked, incredulous.

"It's probably gonna hurt."

"Goody. Okay, do it."

Jason set her ankle with a SNAP. Piper screamed, grabbing onto Leo and Rosie with talons. The two of them screamed, drowning Piper out.

"God, beauty queen!" Leo complained, wringing out his hand.

"Sorry, that really hurt…." she moaned. "Where even are we?"

"Maine," Rosie said.

The three of them turned to look at her. "How do you know that?" Jason asked.

"I just do."

"Whatever," Leo waved them off. "More important matters: we need to find Festus."

"We need to regroup," Jason countered. "The sun is setting, anyways."

Leo did not like this. "But Festus-"

"We'll find him first thing in the morning, okay? He'll be fine."

Leo sighed. "Yeah. Okay. Fine." She could tell he wasn't a fan of this decision-he was nervously fiddling with a lug wrench.

"We need to find somewhere safe to sleep."

"We can stay here," Rosie said. She didn't like the fact they were in Maine, but she knew that this place was safe. Safe for people like them.

Jason looked at her like she was crazy. "How do you know?"

"I…" she took a breath. "Just trust me. We'll be safe here." She hoped that was enough. She wished she had some of Piper's convincing in her. "Would I ever lead us off track?"

Piper snorted. "Well-"

"Don't answer that. Anyways. Like I said- we'll be fine here for the night."

Leo yawned. "I'm with Freckles- this place is calling for sleep. The quicker we go to sleep, the faster we can wake up and find Festus. G'night all." He grabbed a lone lawn chair by itself and dragged it over near a shelf, settling down in it and closing his eyes.

"You feel okay, Piper?" She asked.

She nodded, smiling. "That ambrosia stuff is one hell of a drug. Grab that sleeping bag for me, will you?"

She handed her a red sleeping bag from off the shelf.

"I personally think I'm going to claim that La-z-Boy," Rosie said, lowering herself onto the recliner. "Goodnight, you guys."

"Night," they chorused in unison. She turned onto her side, and shut her eyes, feeling as if she were thirteen again.

**A/N: reviews are appreciated :) next chapter is one of my favorites**


	12. Scarred by Woolly Mammoths?

_She was trapped in a net. _

"_Hello?" She called out._

"_You're surrounded by liars," came that creepy voice, the one she was becoming all too familiar with. _

"_Who are you?" Rosie yelled out. "Show yourself!"_

"_Not yet, dear Rosie. You must join me first. Your friends will lead you astray. Join me, and I can show you wonderful things. I can give you a family again."_

_Someone appeared under the net: it was her mother, glowing with a beautiful light._

"_Mom?" She called out._

"_My dear girl," her mother said. Only it wasn't her mother's voice- it was the same creepy one. "The gods are using you as their pawn. Join me."_

She woke up sweating and heaving. It took her a second to recount where she was- in an abandoned department store with her friends.

She _really _didn't like being in Maine- she figured it was time to move on. Rosie shifted uncomfortably in her seat, removing something from underneath her. It was her dagger; she had forgotten about the stupid thing.

She got up from the chair shakily. She quietly crept over to where Jason was sleeping, using his backpack as a pillow.

She gently shook his shoulder. "Jason-"

Jason popped up lightning quick, producing his sword and holding in under Rosie's chin. A little yelp of panic came out from Rosie's mouth.

"Ah, sorry!" She held up her hands. "It's just me, Rosie! Not an enemy!"

Jason looked shocked. "Rosie?" He muttered sleepily. "Oh, um-sorry-" he retreated, Rosie's heart thumping out of her chest.

"No, it's my fault. Note to self: wake up Jason and risk getting stabbed, got it."

"Sorry," he muttered, propping himself upright. "Are you okay? Did you need something?"

"Yeah-I do. I want to fight ...I mean, I want you to teach me how to fight."

He frowned. "Sorry?"

"I've got this stupid thing and I don't even know how to use it," Rosie explained, holding up the dagger. "I figured you of all people could teach me."

Jason blinked. "You want to fight."

"Yes."

After a pause, he went, "Okay. Let's do it."

Rosie fell. Again.

"You've got to be kidding," she complained, rubbing her tailbone. "What's the score?"

"23-0."

She groaned. "Mercy rule?"

He laughed. "Come on. I have some water."

Jason taught her the proper way to hold the dagger, and how to use it. He walked her though some moves with it, then prompting her to do it on her own. She was really good at it-on her own. However, once she actually got to spar with Jason, it went terribly.

"You'll get it," he told her, sitting back on the green inflatable chair.

She sat on a desk, crossing her legs underneath. "Maybe I'll just wave pom-poms during our fights."

"What about your powers?" he asked.

She sighed. "Right. Those."

"Not a fan of them, then? Annabeth mentioned children of Poseidon being powerful..."

She let out a weak laugh. "Yeah. I guess...they're just better unused."

He didn't push; he just nodded as if he understood.

"It's a good thing we crashed here. How did you even find this place?"

She hesitated. Then, she took a deep breath. "Thirteen-year-old me sat in that very chair and wondered how she could score free pizza from the place down the street."

He gasped, his eyes widening. "No way. You've been here before?"

"When I ran away from home...I came here the first night."

_Two Years Ago_

_It had been raining._

_A complete and utter downpour- freezing sheets of rain. Rosie just ran, hardly seeing where she was going._

_She had no home anymore. Her entire family had been ripped from her hands. She couldn't stay here._

_Thunder rumbled in the sky, as Rosie sobbed and ran._

_The sky lit up with lighting, and Rosie screamed as she was almost crushed by a looming figure. _

_She squinted in the rain- she couldn't believe it- it was a horse, staring right at her, recovering from being spooked by the lightning. It was a beautiful horse, with a lush black and white coat of fur. She didn't know why a horse was there, on the streets of Maine of all places._

_She and the horse just stared at each other for a second._

_She paused. "Are you alone too?"_

_You okay, kid?_

_She gasped. It was like she was able to hear the horse's thoughts. How was that possible?_

_I can help you._

_She hesitated. "I can't go home...I messed everything up."_

_The horse tilted its head at her. _

_Hop on._

_She rode on the horse's back, the horse galloping ferociously through the rain._

_He galloped up to an abandoned warehouse- it looked like it had been a department store at some point._

_The horse knelt for her to slide off easily._

"_What is this place?" She asked him._

_You'll be safe here._

"_I'm scared," she admitted._

_Sleep. Tomorrow's a new day._

"_What's your name?" She asked._

_Karey._

_She smiled at the horse, caressing its snout affectionately. "Thank you, Karey. My name is Rosie."_

_I know who you are. You're powerful._

_She didn't know what the horse meant. She glanced at the department store hesitantly._

_Go, kid. Everything is going to be alright._

_She kissed the horse's snout, giving it one final pat before walking in._

Jason shook his head. "I can't believe it. A horse?"

She smiled tightly. "I know, it sounds crazy…."

"No, it's not. Wow, I just ...do you think your dad sent him?"

She frowned. She never really gave it much thought how Karey found her. Honestly, at the time she was too scared to give it a great amount of thought. Her dad was the god of horses, however.

Finally, Rosie shook her head. "My dad...there'd be no reason to help me. He's made his stance on me quite clear."

Jason tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"No one at camp even knew I existed. I was completely off their radar, even with that stupid new rule they made about claiming. It was all 'Percy this' and 'Percy that'. My dad just...never cared about me and my brother."

"Brother?" Jason asked. "You have a brother?"

_Whoops_.

"Had," she said softly.

Jason's face faltered. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she whispered. "Thank you, though."

"You have them, though, right?" He said, nodding towards a sleeping Leo and Piper.

She looked at her friends and smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I have them." No matter what happened, she had them. They were her family. "And you, of course."

Jason frowned. "You don't have to…" he winced. "You guys have history. I...I'm just there."

Rosie thought back to discussing Kelsey Carmichael on Festus and felt terrible. Jason had been left out of the conversation completely, as the three of them had talked about their dumb inside joke.

"God," she said, anguished. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to feel left out-"

Jason held up a hand. "It's okay...you guys have an entire friendship, built off time spent together. I...I don't."

"You have Piper though, right?" She said, trying to be upbeat.

He raised her eyebrows at her. "I didn't think you were a fan of that. Back at the throne room, you seemed a little...indifferent towards us."

"Me? What? No.." She said, hoping she sounded incredulous. She sighed. "Okay, it's just...I just don't want you guys to build up something based off what Hera put into your mind, you know?"

Jason looked scared. "I think about that everyday."

She gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

"I wish she had been in my life...I really do like her, Rosie, it's just... I just...wish I knew things." He looked upset, tearing a hand angrily through his blond hair. "Like who I was before- where I came from, who my friends were. I have a sister, Thalia, and I don't even remember her."

Jason kicked at the ground angrily. "I don't even know where this stupid scar came from." He gestured to his lip.

"It's probably a wicked story," she said, shrugging.

"What?"

"Every person with a scar has a wicked scar story," she said, acting like it was common knowledge.

"Ah," Jason said curtly. "Of course."

"I bet you have a really good story."

He said nothing.

"Yeah...I can totally see it." She leaned back on her hands. "You were slightly younger, hair a bit messier, not quite grown into your limbs yet...at a slightly awkward age of 13,"

Jason reddened.

"Hey, wait, I'm getting to the good parts." She paused with a thoughtful look. "So this wolf lady, right? I bet you were some...commander of a wolf army. The youngest one they've ever seen."

"Commander of a wolf army," Jason repeated, an amused look on his face.

"I'm sorry, are you telling the story? Anyways, there was a threat to your army...a...a…" She paused, her mind blank. "What's a predator of a wolf?"

"I don't know, an army of giants?"

"Hey," She admonished. "No bringing giants into this. Anyways, this predator of a wolf...a woolly mammoth!"

"Woolly mammoths are extinct."

"Uh, duh, you're the one who made them extinct."

"Right, sorry. Go on."

"So, these evil woolly mammoths attacked your camp, and you weren't going to allow that, no...you're too protective and loyal! The battle was raging on, and morale was low, and you thought to yourself: we're going to lose. But, then ...wait for it...suspenseful, right?"

"I'm on the edge of my seat."

"You realized: Oh man, I'm the son of Zeus! So just as you're being held in a death grip in the trunk of the head woolly mammoth, you did that thing where you summon lightning. The entire sky lit up, and it ricocheted off the tusk of the mammoth, giving you that tiny little scar but not killing you, because, why? Because you're the freaking son of Zeus."

Jason gave her a small smile. "Evil woolly mammoths, huh?"

"Either that or you did something really stupid like fall off your bike."

Jason laughed. "Well that's just anti climatic after that story."

"But still a wicked scar story."

Jason paused. Thanks, Rosie...that was good," he said. "You always this good at cheering people up?"

She thought about it. "My mom..." she trailed off, unsure if she should continue. Jason looked at her expectantly, and she realized that he had no clue what happened with her mother. He wouldn't blame her for anything. "My mom used to say that in a sucky situation sometimes the only options are to either laugh or cry,"

He smiled softly. "You choose laughter."

"I tend to get dehydrated."

Jason let out a laugh. "Daughter of Poseidon getting dehydrated," he said, shaking his head.

"Ironic, right?"

"Your mom sounds awesome..."

"Yeah. She was." Was? Is? Who knew.

"We should get some sleep," Jason said, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

She nodded. "Yeah. We should."

Jason curled up on his side on the green chair, as Rosie stood up to go back to her recliner.

"Hey, Jason?" She said.

"Yeah?"

"Most people wouldn't give up sleep to help some clueless girl learn how to fight. I think you're a pretty awesome friend."

It was too dark to tell, but she could've sworn he smiled.

"Goodnight, Rosie."

It was still dark when they woke up the next morning. They quickly repacked their gear, getting ready to find Festus.

"So, Leo, do you have any way to track Festus?" Piper asked.

"Uh. No," he admitted. "But I figure he has to be close."

Rosie was on high alert with everything. Walking down the streets of her hometown, she couldn't help but scan every face she saw.

She wondered if her mom still lived here. Rosie thought of her all alone in that old apartment, and she wanted to cry.

"We need to hurry," Jason said. "It's still early enough that we're on schedule. We need to find Festus, and leave as soon as possible."

"I want that as much as you do, bro," Leo said. "But there's a good chance Festus is scattered into a million pieces across Maine."

Rosie smacked his shoulder. "Well, someone's Mr. Positivity…"

"Did no one else see Festus become a fireball?" Leo moaned. "My poor dragon.."

"Guys," Piper sharply cut in. "I hate to steal Leo's title but…" She nudged her head behind them. "I think we have company."

A police officer was standing there, hands on his hips as he peered at them disdainfully. Something about his expression made her insides crawl. His eyes met Rosie's, and she quickly looked forward.

"Just a cop, right?" she asked nervously. "A cop who's wondering why we're not in school?"

Jason hesitated, shaking his head. "Can't be sure." He paused, as if weighing their options. "We should split up."

"What?" Piper said. "Jason-"

"Leo, you said you might need to fix Festus, right?" Jason asked him.

"Um, yeah. What does that have to do with-"

Jason grabbed Piper's hand, who looked surprised but also pleased. "You remember that hardware store we passed?_ Hardy's Hardware_? We'll meet there in half an hour, with Festus or without. I'll go with Piper, you guys okay together?"

"Uh." Rosie gave him a confused look. Jason and Piper arguably were more powerful than her and Leo, especially since they were missing their sixty foot dragon. "You sure this is a good idea?"

Jason looked right into her eyes. "You'll be fine." She thought about their conversation last night. He asked her why she didn't use his powers. He thought she was powerful. She knew he was wrong- she was dangerous.

"He's getting closer," Leo warned under his breath.

Jasson nodded at them. "Blend in." With those words said, he and Piper suddenly shot into the sky.

Leo threw his hands up, crying out, "Seriously?!"

Rosie groaned. "So much for blending in!" she called out towards the sky.

Leo went pale. "Uh, Freckles-"

The cop started walking towards them.

"Run," she said.

"Like a jog or-"

She grabbed his hand. "Run!"


	13. Freaks One in the Same

Now she understood Coach making them run all those miles.

"Come on!" she hissed to Leo.

"I'm right here!"

Thanks to her stint at Wilderness, she hardly felt out of breath. She and Leo kept running- the cop had started chasing them. She was too afraid to look behind them to see if he was following.

"Festus!" Leo yelled.

"Shush!"

"Don't shush me!" Leo whispered back urgently.

"You're being loud!" She hissed.

"I'm trying to find Festus!"

"And what, you expect him to answer back?"

A gruff voice broke out. "Hey, you two!"

Rosie and Leo exchanged panicked looks.

"Come on, this way!" She said, running to the right.

After a few seconds, she realized Leo had run into the opposite direction. With a groan, she kept running, cursing their communication skills in crisis. Her calf muscles were starting to burn, and she was vaguely aware of the streets becoming more and more familiar.

Flames erupted at her feet, and she yelped, jumping to the side to avoid them. She was enveloped in a cloud of steam, a cloud of steam that could only mean one thing.

"Festus?" She called out.

She followed the steam, continuing down another block until being stopped in her tracks.

"You stupid dragon," she muttered.

Festus was fine- as least she assumed he was. He laid there, dazed but awake, occasionally sneezing flames.

It wasn't so much Festus himself- more where he landed.

She was frozen in her tracks.

The sidewalk Festus was sitting on? That was where she first learned how to ride a bike, her mom taping it as Buzz chased her down the street. Behind Festus was the hydrangea bush she and Max would pick from. His tail, fully extended, reached the window where she would look out and watch the stars.

He was right in front of that old apartment building she had loved so much. In front of the place she used to call home.

"There you are!" Leo had somehow materialized next to her, fussing over Festus. "Oh boy, I'm so sorry we left you...let's take a look here." She hardly registered the sight of Leo, pulling out measuring tapes and levers and hammers out of his tool belt. She stood there, unmoving, as Leo blabbered on.

"Good news!" He said to her. "Well-sorta. Bad news- that ice queen froze Festus' circuit board over. Good news- it's an easy fix! I'll just grab a few parts at that Hardy's place-and-ah, Freckles? Ice queen freeze you too?"

She said nothing, just staring at her home. _Her home._

"Rosie?" He poked her. "Kinda freaking me out here."

"I-I grew up here."

"Uh...yeah. You did. I thought we already established that ..."

"No-like, _literally _here." She pointed to the window that was her bedroom. "I lived there."

Leo's eyes widened. "Oh. _Wow_. Um…" he nervously fiddled with a screw in his hand. "Are we happy or sad about that?"

"I don't know...maybe confused?"

"That wasn't an option, Freckles."

"I feel it, though. I feel confusion."

Leo gave her a concerned look. "Ookay! Confusion it is then! I, too, feel confusion." He paused. "Do you want to go in?"

"What?" She said, panic rising in her voice.

Leo held up his hands. "Whoa- it's okay. We don't have to." He pushed a button on Festus, allowing him to transform into luggage again. "We can head back to meet Jason and Pipes."

She nodded, allowing herself to exhale. The two of them started walking away from her home, Leo lugging Festus behind them.

"I mean, I bet Khione was at least _impressed_ by Festus before she froze him-"

"Leo." She grabbed onto his arm, stopping them in their tracks. "I have to go in." She didn't know why she said these words- they just came out.

"Oh. You sure?"

"No. But I don't think I can just walk away."

He paused, then nodded slowly. "Then after you, Freckles."

_You can't protect him, Rosie Reiger. _

_A shiver ran down her spine. That voice. What was that? Rosie nervously glanced around._

"_Max, did you hear that-"_

_You will both die._

"_M-Mom?" _

_A scream suddenly came from Max, and Rosie spun around to see a giant wave accelerating towards them. She reached out to grab Max, but she was too late. The wave smacked her right in her face, and the force made her stagger onto her back. _

_Her eyes stung from the salt, and she felt as if the sand beneath her was concaving._

_As her vision finally returned, Max was gone. _

"_Help!" She screamed. "Someone help, please!"_

_There was no answer to her plead. Where was her mom?_

_Rosie quickly kicked off her flip flops and sprinted into the ocean, her calf muscles groaning in protest. A wave slammed her back, and she was submerged in the freezing water._

_Max. Where was Max? _

_She pushed on further, each wave growing bigger in protest. Her muscles felt spastic; why did it feel like she couldn't swim?_

"_Rosie!"_

_Max's terrified call. She spotted him, flailing above the waves, about fifteen feet from Rosie. The only thing above the waves was his head._

"_Max!" She screamed over the vicious roar of the waves. "I'm coming!"_

_As she swam towards him, her father's voice popped into her head: believe in the sea, Rosie. _

_She was close. So, so close. She reached out to him, her fingertips brushing his._

_A force yanked her underneath, almost as if someone was dunking her. She let out a scream, as suddenly the water felt suffocating. Everything was cloudy and spinning; where was Max? _

_She kicked ferociously, trying to break the surface._

_When she did, Max was gone. The waves were eerily silent and still._

_Grief, it turned out, was as suffocating as the waves felt that day. It felt as if she was swimming in Jello, a stagnant but numbing feeling washing over her body. _

_Her mom was completely gone. Rosie could tell by the look in her eyes, as if her Mom was there but mentally a thousand miles away._

_The only thing left of Max was his rubix cube. Rosie swiped it from his room, being extra careful to close the door, so her mother wouldn't know she was in there._

_She was banned from the water. The second worst thing about this tragedy: it took away her love of the water. Because Rosie didn't even need to be forbidden from the water; the guilt was enough to keep her far away._

_The memorial service was on a mockingly sunny day. They didn't even have a body to bury. Rosie sat in between her mother and Buzz, in an itchy black velvet dress. She couldn't help but glance at the church door every once in a while: she thought her father would show, but he didn't. _

_The blistering summer turned into a cool fall, and Rosie returned to school. The other kids whispered. She knew what they were saying. She kept her distance from them._

_After one humiliating day at school, Rosie went home._

"_Mom, I brought in the mail-"_

_She broke off as she entered their apartment: all the lights were off, and there was one single noise reverberating throughout the apartment._

_Rosie traced it to Max's room. There, her mother sat on his bed, sobbing._

"_Mom," Rosie said, anguished. "Are you okay?"_

"_You." Rosie stepped back at the harshness of her tone. "This...It's because of you."_

"_Mom?"_

"_This!" She snapped, gesturing to Max's room. "It's all your fault."_

_Rosie took a breath, tears starting to form at the edges of her eyes. "Mom, I'm sorry..."_

_Her mother had a malicious look on her face, her eyes filled with venom. She didn't look normal. "Get out. You...I can't have you here. Get out, Rosemary!" Her mother heaved angrily, screaming, "Leave!"_

_Rosemary. Her mother never ever called her by her first name. _

_Rosie let out a sob as she quickly turned and ran out of the only place she ever thought of as home, the only thing on her a school backpack and Max's rubix cube. _

"_Run away, Rosie Reiger. Never come back." That spooky voice, the same one she heard the day Max died, came back to her._

_It was all her fault. She did this: it was her fault Max was gone. She sobbed as she ran through the streets of her hometown, her Maine. She couldn't stay here. _

_She had lost everything._

"What do I say?" She nervously paced up and down the carpeted hallway, outside the door of their apartment.

"Hey mom, don't get too attached again, I may get eaten by an army of giants?"

She shot him an aggravated look.

He gave her a sheepish smile. "My bad. I don't know, maybe start with hi?"

"Okay." She combed a hand through her hair. "Okay. I can do this. I can totally do this. Here we go." She held up her hand to knock on the door, only to pause in fear. "I can't do this."

Leo gave her a quizzical look. "You look like you're going to hurl."

"Gee, thanks."

"Seriously, are you okay? You made the water fountain explode on our way up here," he said, gesturing to his partially wet clothes.

"Can you knock for me? Please?" Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.

"Lucky for you, I'm a fantastic knocker." He cleared his breath, holding up his hand to the door. He knocked. "Yo, Ms. Reiger!"

Rosie held her breath. Every second that passed felt like an eternity. She waited.

No response.

She exhaled. She didn't know if she felt relieved or disappointed.

"Maybe she's out?" Leo offered, shrugging.

"Yeah. Maybe." Deep down, she knew her mom wasn't there.

Leo grabbed the doorknob, turning it ever so slowly. It opened with a click.

"Leo!"

He grinned at her. "I mean, it's technically your house, Freckles." He ducked into the apartment.

"You know, some would call it breaking and entering," she muttered, following him in.

She wasn't prepared for the sight inside.

It was her apartment, but...abandoned. Furniture was knocked over, cobwebs growing everywhere, broken lamps on the ground. She spotted an eviction notice on the ground by Leo's feet. It felt cold and empty, like the light was sucked out of it.

He knelt down by it, reading it over. "Oh…"

It was too much. Rosie felt the panic forming in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She left the living room, opening the door to Max's room. It looked exactly the same, like her mom fled without stopping to think. Just like Rosie had done.

She sat down on Max's bed, needing something to anchor her. The world was spinning.

"Freckles?" Leo stood in the doorway, looking at her with concern. "Oh. This is Max's room?"

She nodded wordlessly.

Leo sat down on the bed next to her. "Are you alright?"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "You remember what I told you about Max?"

He gave her a sympathetic look. "Yeah. I remember you told me…you told me he drowned."

"Yeah," she said, the word coming out a single breath. She choked back a sob. "Can I tell you something?"

"Always."

"Sometimes I think I killed him. Like his accident was my fault." It was the first time she had ever truly verbalized it, the thought that tormented her the past two years.

Leo shook his head vigorously, giving her a look of anguish. "No, Rosie, come on-"

"I don't know how to control my powers. I could've-"

"You didn't," he insisted.

"You don't know what I'm capable of," she said tearfully, immediately regretting those words. She shook her head, closing her eyes. "I'm a freak. If you knew, you'd run away screaming."

"I'm sorry, Freckles, I'm going to stop you right there, I _did _see you scarf down four twinkies in thirty seconds the other day. I didn't scream and run away then, did I?"

She let out a laugh that verged on being a sob. "You know what I mean."

"You didn't cause it, Freckles."

"Right. Just like I didn't cause this," she said, gesturing to the abandoned apartment.

"We could look around. Maybe there's something that could tell us where your mom went."

She stood up, examining Max's desk. "Doubt it. It's too dark in here to even see anything."

"Hey, wait, I think I have a light on me..."

She turned around, only to see Leo's hand engulfed in flames. Rosie let out a shocked yelp, backing up into Max's desk.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, clutching her leg. "_Geez, Leo_! What the heck?"

He looked perfectly calm. "Hm. Guess I'm in the exclusive freak club too."

"So Zethes was right? You're a fire guy,"

"Yeah. You going to scream and run away?"

"No."

He gave her a look. "You don't know what I'm capable of," he said in an annoyingly on point impression of Rosie's voice.

"Stop, come on, I get it." Point taken.

Leo just stared at the flames flickering off of his forearm. "You know I lied, right?"

"What?"

"Back when I was telling Jason and Piper about my mom..I didn't tell them about the fire in her shop."

"Yeah. I figured you had your reasons…" She trailed off with a shrug.

Leo gave her a serious expression. He gulped. "When I woke up in the ambulance that night, the paramedics were nice. They didn't blame me for it. The fire- the cops weren't so nice. Called me an arsonist. Said it was all my fault. Scary thing is...I think they were right."

"Hey," she admonished gently, placing a hand on his flame-covered arm. For some reason, the flames didn't bother her; maybe she had a higher tolerance for them as a daughter of Poseidon. "If I can't play that game, neither can you. Got it?"

Leo extinguished the flames. "Yes, ma'am," he whispered softly.

They stood there for a second, her holding his arm, neither of them speaking. Leo had always been one of her best friends, and yet, in that moment she felt even closer to him. She couldn't stand the thought of him blaming himself for his mom's accident, which made her realize how ridiculous it was that she was blaming herself for Max's death. They had their traumas. But at the end of the day they were still Rosie and Leo.

"We should go," she told him softly, dropping his arm. "Jason and Piper will be wondering where we are."

He nodded. "Festus is outside. Let's go."

The walk back to Hardy was...comfortable. It wasn't Rosie and Leo's usual chaotic nature, but they still joked and laughed. They passed the time by listing all the things they would rather be doing than being pawns of Hera.

"Bashing my head with a frying pan," she said.

"Chopping off my hand."

"Ooh good one! Drinking a vat of acid."

When they finally reached Hardy's, Leo knelt down to Festus, unfolding him to his true form.

"So, an easy fix, then?" she asked him.

"Should be. I'll come in a second. Just want to refigure some things…" he said, already drifting off into his Leo-fix-it-face.

She nodded. "I'll tell Jason and Piper."

Hardy's was deserted; she couldn't even tell if anyone was working there. It was a cramped store, with way too many shelves threatening to fall right over. No lights were on in the store, and she again wondered if it was even open.

"Guys?" she called out to the store, wondering if they maybe beat Jason and Piper there. "We're back."

"Good!" Jason called out. "We're in the back. Come join us."

"Festus is going to be fine," she tells them as she makes her way to the back. "I mean, let's just say he's not going to be a fan of winter anytime soon, but.."

"That's fantastic." She heard Piper's voice. "Really. Please come join us."

Her pace slowed. That didn't sound like Piper at all.

"Uh, guys? Are you okay? You both sound a little-"

She became face-to-face with one of the ugliest things she's ever seen. It was some...some _creature_ wearing a toga that she sure wished covered more of its body. Staring back at her was the creature's one eye. She knew the name for it- a cyclops.

Jason and Piper were against the shelf, both on their knees and gagged, with a Cyclops in between them.

"Yes, Sister," the Cyclops said in Piper's voice. "Welcome."


	14. Demigods with a Side of Salsa

For a second, no one said anything.

That blissful second was over too soon.

The cyclops in front of her grabbed her arm, yanking her forward. "The daughter of Neptune! Look, Sump, our pretty sister!"

Neptune? Was Poseidon's alter ego a planet? Rosie was jostled back and forth between the two cyclops, like Monkey in the Middle, quickly getting dizzy. "Come on, guys," she grunted. "Is that any way to greet your sister?"

She was pushed to the ground as Sump had a thoughtful look on his face. Rosie quickly got a better glance at her friends. Piper, for the most part, looked okay. Angry, but okay. She widened her eyes at Rosie, which could only mean one thing: _Where was Leo?_ Rosie jerked her head in response. She could only hope and pray that Leo was still outside, and when he did come in, he would do so discreetly. Otherwise, they were toast.

Jason, on the other hand, didn't look so great. He no doubt didn't go down without a fight. He had a black eye, and his lip appeared to be swelling rapidly. He looked to be in pain.

"Maybe we shouldn't tie up our sister, Torque?" Sump asked.

"Don't be stupid," he snapped back. "Ma wants all of them tied up."

Sump shrugged, kneeling down next to Rosie, ready to gag her.

She shook her head. "You don't want to do that, Sump. I'm a biter." She bared her teeth, trying to appear more menacing than she actually was.

Sump jerked back a little, looking a bit scared. He glanced at Piper and Jason, who both nodded vigorously, backing Rosie up.

"Brother?" Sump asked Torque.

"Just gag her already!"

Sump nodded, placing a cloth in Rosie's mouth. Next, her hands were bound behind her back. Sump forced her to kneel down next to Piper and Jason.

"Where's the other one?" Sump wondered. "I smell another one."

Rosie felt her eyes widen in panic, as she exchanged a worried look with Piper. Leo.

"Leo?" Torque called out in Rosie's voice. "Are you there?"

Rosie cringed, feeling like she was listening to a recording of herself. At least, Leo didn't appear. She could only hoped he had a plan to get them out of this.

Meanwhile, Torque shrugged. "The other one will show up sooner or later. Let's bring them downstairs."

Downstairs? Sump picked up Rosie and Piper, both of them thrown over his shoulders like rag dolls in a fireman's hold. Torque picked Jason up by the ankle, swinging him gleefully. Rosie felt herself shudder with every step as they made their way downstairs. Sump and Torque brought them to a room that looked like a factory. Cargo boxes and heavy machinery, such as cranes with robotic arms, littered the room. She spotted a conveyor belt across the room, a belt which had an abandoned truck chassis on it.

The three of them were dumped on the ground like sacks of flour. Sump and Torque bounded across the room, where they appeared to be conversing with another cyclops. This one was even taller- she was also female. She had on a chain-link dress, and her hair was black and matted into two pigtails. She sneered at them.

"This is them?" She asked. "Where's the other one?"

"We couldn't find him, Ma," Torque explained.

Ma? She really wasn't enjoying this-she didn't like the sound of one big angry cyclops family.

Ma's face scrunched up in anger. "Unacceptable!"

Torque and Sump exchanged panicked glances.

"We can look again!" Sump said, eyebrows scrunched up in worry.

"Yes! Yes we can!" Torque exclaimed. He then spoke out in Rosie's voice: "Leo, help! Help me!"

The three cyclops waited intently for a response.

Ma shrugged. "Maybe the fool ran off. No matter- get them up."

She definitely didn't like the sound of that. Sump and Torque eagerly bounded towards the three of them. Torque grabbed Jason by the arm. Jason took this as his chance, head-butting Torque in an area...south of the equator. Rosie grimaced, as Jason pulled back, slightly dazed.

Torque yelped angrily in pain, grabbing Jason by the head and using his other arm to bash Jason in the head. Rosie and Piper both screamed, their screams muffled by the gags, as Jason's eyes closed and his head rolled off to the side.

"Stupid demigod!" Torque spat. "I get to hang this one up."

Piper and Rosie watched, helpless, as Torque suspended Jason upside down from the robotic arm of one of the cranes lining the room. Torque tied up his body in chains, letting him hang there.

Sump grinned at Rosie. "Your turn." He flipped her upside down, tying her to the robotic arm of the crane. She instantly felt sick and uncomfortable, for the blood was rapidly rushing to her head.

Piper joined them, and soon enough, it was like they were strung up Christmas lights.

"Ma Gasket is hungry!" The female cyclops bellowed. "They sure will taste good."

Rosie now felt _really _sick. Piper gave her a frightened look. If only she wasn't gagged- maybe then Piper could talk their way out of this.

"Shall we start the fire, Ma?" Sump asked, holding up a flare stick.

Ma Gasket licked her lips looking at the three of them. "Do it."

Suddenly, she was blinded by the glow of orange light, coming from the flare stick Sump was holding. She watched in horror as the three of them surrounded the fire, made up of tires and wood, the smell of kerosene in the air.

Sump peered at Piper with interest. "May I take her gag off? I do enjoy it when the demigods beg."

Ma grunted, and Sump pulled off Piper's gag. She didn't scream or yell, just tried to regain her breathing.

"Scream, demigod!" Sump yelled angrily.

Piper just smiled sweetly. "Come on, now. Isn't this all unnecessary? Surely you don't need to eat us…" She shot Rosie a hopeful look.

Sump looked at Torque and Ma. "Surely we don't have to eat them…? I can let the pretty one go…"

"I saw her first," Torque growled. "I want to release her!"

The two of them started arguing, until Ma barked out a sharp, "Enough! The girl is Venus spawn; don't listen to a word she says."

"Ma'am-" Piper started politely.

"Shut up!" She grabbed Piper by the waist, swinging her around angrily. "Don't try your pretty talk on me, girl. Ma Gasket does not allow that!"

"Ma, may I at least eat the pretty girl?"

"Stupid!" Ma exclaimed. "Useless, stupid imbeciles! Stupid sons! I'm too soft-should've thrown you out when I had the chance-"

"What, Ma?" Torque asked.

"Nothing, you idiot. Stoke that fire. Sump, where's my salsa? I don't eat demigods without salsa!"

"Why not guac?" Piper offered, but was ignored.

"Um-I-" Sump stammered. "It's upstairs. Sorry. Ma."

"Idiot!" She screamed, pushing him. "Go get it! Now!"

Sump quickly scampered off, sweating as he did. Rosie watched him go, only for some movement to catch her eye. Leo's head popped out from behind one of the cranes, meeting Rosie's eyes before quickly disappearing again. She wasn't the only one to see- Piper did, and as a result, let out a shocked yelp.

Ma Gasket turned to Piper. "What's the matter with you, child?"

Piper quickly shot her a smile. "Just my ribs, ma'am. I'm afraid I won't taste very good."

Rosie began chewing on her gag, wondering if she'd be strong enough to break it.

Ma waved her off. "Nonsense. Torque, tell her about the last hero we ate."

"Son of Mercury!" Torque enthused. "Quite tasty- tasted like string cheese." String cheese was definitely ruined for Rosie.

"He said he was on meds," Ma explained. "Tasted just fine!"

"Like string cheese," Torque mused happily. "Purple shirt. Latin speaker."

Those words made Rosie pause: purple shirt? Latin speaker? That sounded like Jason himself, who still hung limply besides her.

"So yummy," Ma Gasket said fondly. "Anyways, we're not stupid, Daughter of Venus. We're Northern Cyclops, after all!"

Piper pretended to be impressed. "Oh, Northern Cyclops! So big and clever! Right, Rosie?" Piper shot Rosie a pleading look.

Rosie, still gagged, nodded vigorously.

Ma Gasket laughed. "Nice try," she said. "But flattery isn't going to cut it."

"Oh don't be so modest!" Piper exclaimed. "Tell me more about yourselves."

"You're stalling, girl. Everyone knows we make weapons- Torque, show her."

Torque proudly held up an accordion-looking pole. "War hammer!"

"Oh. That's ...um, terrifying," Piper muttered.

"Enough small talk," Ma snapped. "Kill the boy. I like fresh demigods."

"Wait!" Piper cried frantically. "Um...May I just ask-"

Suddenly, a sparking noise was heard. The Cyclops froze, seeing Leo clutching a remote. Rosie picked up her chewing, doing it rapidly and nervously.

Torque growled, picking up a nearby cargo crate and chucking it at Leo. Leo quickly rolled out of the way, holding onto his remote for dear life.

"Torque!" Ma snarled. "Get it! Death to the demigod!"

Torque began clambering towards Leo. Leo frantically pulled at a toggle on the remote. An unused robotic arm whirred to life, slamming Torque to the ground. Leo controlled it to pick up Torque by the ankle, slamming him into the ceiling, yellow dust raining down as he disintegrated.

Rosie let out a muffled laugh. She couldn't believe it- _of course _Leo had programmed all of robotic arms. It was completely a Leo thing to do.

"Hey, Ma!" Sump reentered, salsa jar in hand. "I got the sals-"

Poor Sump never got the chance to finish. Leo's claw slammed into him, sending him back ten feet, Sump exploding like a piñata.

Leo whooped triumphantly. "Take that, one eye!"

Rosie's gag split into two, falling off her mouth. "Yes! Go, Leo!"

Ma screamed in agony. "My sons! Only I can destroy my sons, stupid demigod!"

Leo punched a button quickly, the robotic arms swinging erratically. Ma caught one of them, tearing it into two pieces. Leo was able to hit Ma with the other one. Unfortunately, this made her angry, as she let out a frustrated groan. She grabbed the clamp of the arm, yanking it out and throwing it towards Leo, Leo quickly jumping out of the way. Good thing Leo had fast reflexes.

"Out of tricks, demigod?" She spat.

"No way!" Leo snapped back. "Take one more step and I'll destroy you with fire!" She could see the confusion on Piper's face.

Ma laughed. "You foolish, foolish boy. Cyclops are immune to fire, idiot. You want to play with fire, boy, here's fire!"

Rosie's stomach dropped as Ma picked up a box labeled kerosene. She shot Leo a menacing smile, as she hurled it towards him. The barrel broke in front of him, spilling lighter fluid everywhere and setting Leo on fire.

Piper screamed, a look of pure horror on her face.

Leo, however, was fine. He had his eyes closed, as he concentrated intently in the flames.

"Piper, he's fine! He's okay!" Rosie cried. The last thing Leo needed was Piper screaming at him, as if his powers didn't petrify him enough.

Piper shot her a look. "What?!"

As if to prove Rosie's point, the flames died, Leo gasping and covered in soot, but otherwise fine.

Ma Gasket let out a furious yell. "How did you do that? Who are you?"

"Son of Hephaestus," Leo snapped. "And yeah, a fire guy." He pointed at the chain above Ma, the one holding an engine block. The chain, heated beyond capacity, dropped the engine block onto Ma, dissolving her into a layer of dust.

This effort obviously took a lot out of Leo. He fell to the ground, wincing in pain.

"Leo!" Rosie shouted. "Are you okay?"

He grimaced. "I'm-I'm okay. Just...never done that before."

Leo shakily stood, making his way over to them. She wasn't sure how, but he managed to get Rosie down from the chains, him grabbing her as she fell.

She gave him a smile. "You okay?" she whispered.

Although pale, he nodded. "You still petrified of the waves?"

"All the time."

Leo nodded again, his face turning a slightly sickly green shade. "Yeah- I'm still scared of flames."

She squeezed his arm supportively. "You did it, though. You saved us from being cyclop soup."

"Anytime."

"Uh, guys?" Piper called out. "A little help here?"

"Sorry, Pipes!" Leo called. "We're coming." He placed Rosie on the ground, and the two of them ran over to Piper.

"That-" Piper panted as she landed on the ground. "Was terrifying."

Leo's face fell. "Yeah, sorry about the fire. I should've told you guys sooner…"

She smacked his arm. "Not the fire, dummy! That was _awesome!_ You saved us, Valdez!" She turned to Rosie. "Can you believe it? He's a fire guy!"

"This is unbelievable!" Rosie cried, trying to be shocked but failing miserably.

"You knew already, didn't you?" Piper asked flatly.

Rosie gave her a sheepish look. "Yeah-recently. Sorry."

"She coerced it out of me, Pipes!" Leo yelled, trying to untangle Jason's chains.

Piper shrugged. "Hey, I'm just glad we didn't end up as their first course meal."

Jason fell to the ground, Leo crumbling under his weight. Rosie and Piper helped them up, Piper quickly maneuvering under Jason's arm.

"Pipes, I can do it-"

"I got it," she snapped, a fixed determined look on her face.

"Feisty," Leo said to her. "You good, Pipes?"

"Fine. Sorry, it's just-" She took a breath. "They came out of nowhere. We thought you guys beat us here...then they showed up. And Jason.." She trailed off, holding back a sob.

Rosie patted her shoulder sympathetically. "You're okay, now. Jason is going to be fine." Rosie turned to Leo. "You missed it- Jason headbutted a cyclops in the groin, and it was _awesome_."

"Sweet!" Leo cried.

Piper smiled. "It was pretty cool…"

"He'll be fine," Rosie stated.

"Uh, guys?" Leo called out. "We should leave. Like, now. Look."

The dust on the ground, formerly known as Ma, Torque, and Sump began vibrating, some of it collecting in clumps.

Piper's face scrunched up in confusion. "That's not possible. Annabeth told me monsters go to Tartarus and take a really, really long time to regenerate…"

"You wanna tell that to them, Pipes?" Leo asked.

Something wasn't right, then, if what Piper said was true.

Rosie pushed away those thoughts. "It doesn't matter, guys. Let's just go."

It took her an hour on Festus' back to finally stop looking over her shoulder. She was afraid.

Something was amiss- she just didn't know what.


	15. Chef Leo and Rosie's Taco Garage

Leo clapped his hands together. "Alright, ladies," he said. "Who wants to help me rewire Festus?"

Rosie raised her eyebrows at him. "Rewire Festus? I thought you fixed it already!"

"Him, not it, Freckles." Leo pointed out. "But, yeah, he's almost ready. I just need one _extremely lucky _young lady who's going to help me!" He gave them a thumbs up.

"Sorry," Piper said unapologetically. "I'm a little busy holding up our dear unconscious friend." She shot a gleeful look towards Rosie.

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" Leo cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled.

"I hate you," she muttered to Piper, following Leo to Festus.

"I'll be over here, drugging Jason," Piper said, holding up a bag of ambrosia and nectar.

"That's what every friend wants to hear!" She said enthusiastically.

"Alright, Water Girl, let's do this," Leo said, opening up a panel on Festus.

"Did you just call me water girl?"

"H2O Woman?"

She made a face of disgust. "I don't think so, fire guy."

"Touché."

"So what's my job, stand here and look pretty?" She said, demurely posing.

"Oh, Rosie, that's funny! If I needed someone to do that, I'd just ask beauty queen." He stuck out his tongue at her.

She lightly kicked his shin. "Jerk."

"Do me a favor and reach into my belt-"

"_Dirty!_" She pretended to be scandalized.

He laughed. "Shut up. Grab a Phillips screwdriver for me."

"Is that the pointy one?" She asked, rummaging through Leo's belt.

"I've taught you well, young grasshopper."

She produced the screwdriver with a smile. "You're like a male Mary Poppins with that belt-like a Larry Hoppins."

"Mary Poppins wishes she had a belt like this," he muttered, screwing a nail into a sparking Festus. He paused. "You know, I'm glad we keep our sense of humor even when death is impending."

She beamed. "Me too."

Leo hummed while he worked, occasionally smudging his cheeks with soot and asking Rosie to grab a tool for him. At one point, he glanced at Piper, who was trying to nurse Jason back to heal. "You think they're going to get back together?"

"Jason and Piper?" She glanced over at them. "Were they ever really broken up?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It's gotta be slightly confusing when a goddess builds your entire relationship off a lie."

She frowned. "Yeah, it's unconventional, but…" She shrugged. "I guess it's working for them."

He peered over at her. "Are you and Pipes okay?"

"Yes," she said defensively. "We're fine, why do you ask?"

"Um." He reddened. "No reason. Just, you guys haven't had any of your girly talk sessions where all you talk about is how amazing Leo Valdez is!"

She raised her eyebrows at him. "You think Piper and I get together and talk about how amazing you are?

"Nevermind." Leo quickly changed the subject. "At least Jason's going to be fine. I really wish humans were as easy to fix as machines, but I guess ambrosia does the trick…"

She leaned against Festus. "I know we hate Hera, but I'm glad she gave us Jason." And she really meant it. She hoped she could show it to Jason more.

He nodded. "I am too. Jason's not so bad. He doesn't make fun of me like some…" He shot Rosie a pointed look. "Like when I found Festus- he was just really impressed. Made me feel good. I...I still think of him as a best friend."

"Hey, I will fight Jason to the death for that title."

Leo smiled, slamming down the cover to Festus, who roared appreciatively. "There. Good as new, see? Easy Peasy."

"Good. I hope this thing is ready to_ blast _to Chicago. It's the one time I'll allow it."

"Wind spirits here we come. Yo, Pipes! You ready?"

She nodded, propping up a still unconscious Jason against her shoulder. "Should he sit between me and you, Rosie?"

"Yeah, I guess it would be bad if Jason fell off Festus and none of us realized..." she mused thoughtfully.

Festus was many things to Rosie: vindictive, dangerous, and overall out for her blood. However, he was not idle. Lost time was quickly made up, as if he knew they needed to get to Chicago _now_.

Piper was unusually quiet on the ride. Rosie and Leo chatted easily on the ride, while she sat in the back, wordless.

"Is no one going to talk about the elephant in the room?" She broke out.

Leo glanced over his shoulder at Rosie, grimacing.

"Could we maybe call it the dragon in the sky?" Rosie asked. "Feels more appropriate."

"Call it whatever," she replied. "But the kid they described-"

"Son of Mercury." Leo finished. "Yeah. Sounded exactly like our resident amnesiac."

Rosie nodded in agreement. "There's more kids out there like him...maybe they were all apart of that wolf pack?"

Leo's fingers were frantically tapping on Festus. "That's another thing- why was Ma using the Roman names of the gods? Like Jason was."

Neither Rosie or Piper had the answer to that question.

Finally, Piper spoke. "It's weird, you know? Jason being apart of something we can't even understand."

Leo shrugged. "I mean, we're still his friends, right?"

"Of course," Piper gushed. "I just- I wish things were the way we thought they were."

"Pipes-" Leo began.

"Like the time we set Hedge's pants on fire. Remember how fun that was? We all finally convinced Jason to break the rules. Coach was so mad-"

She broke off, soon realizing the uncomfortable silence of Rosie and Leo.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I know it didn't happen with him...I just wish we didn't have to let go of the memories."

"Pipes," Rosie began. "I know it sucks. But think of all the new memories we're making on this quest, with Jason live and in the flesh. I can guarantee you we're going to look back one day and think 'hey, remember that time Jason headbutted a cyclops in the groin?'"

Leo laughed to himself. "She's right, Pipes. Who cares about Hera's memories? We got real ones now."

As if on cue, Jason shot upright, giving Rosie a heart attack. "Cyclops!" He yelled.

"And good morning to you," Piper

smiled, ruffling his hair.

Jason, trying to catch his breath, looked around, extremely confused. "What-How did we- what happened?"

"How's that concussion treating you, bro?" Leo asked.

Jason frowned. "Concussion?"

"There were cyclops," Piper told him. "But Leo here destroyed all of them-it was amazing."

"It was nothing," Leo played it off modestly.

Rosie playfully smacked his head. "We're hyping you up, Valdez. Let it happen. It truly, and henceforth-"

"Henceforth?" Leo interrupted. "What is this, the 1800s?"

"It henceforth," she continued. "will be known as The Attack of the Robotic Arms."

"Robotic arms?" Jason asked. "Seriously?"

"Leo reprogrammed all of them," Piper said. "He got them to attack all of the cyclops."

"Set, game, match," Rosie chanted, laughing.

"And that's not it," Piper continued. "Get this, Jason- Leo's a fire guy."

"Really?" Jason said. "That's awesome."

"Aw, shucks," Leo said appreciatively. "You guys are too much."

"He literally crushed Ma Gasket with an engine block-thanks to his awesome fire powers," Piper said.

"So you defeated all three of those cyclops with just your tool belt and some fire powers? I'm seriously impressed, Leo," Jason said, shaking his head in awe.

"Thanks man," Leo replied.

"He can do _anything _with his dirty Larry Hoppins toolbelt," Rosie said.

"What?" Jason asked.

"Nothing!" Leo quickly cut in.

"However, let's not forget one of the best parts- Jason gloriously sacrificing himself and headbutting that cyclops in the groin, am I right?" said Rosie.

Piper giggled, as Leo chimed in, "Jason took one for the team, hear hear!"

"You guys are never going to let me live that down, huh?" Jason groaned, trying to sound annoyed but failing miserably, a smile on his face.

Leo was right: who needed Hera's memories? They were making their own.

"You had good intentions," Piper said, comforting him. "I did nothing but tell them they should eat us with guac instead of salsa."

The four of them laughed.

"A good choice, though," Jason said. He paused, frowning. "I'm sorry about taking us to Hardy's. It was my idea, and then we were attacked, and I wasn't even conscious-"

"Hey, Jason," Rosie cut in. "I'm telling you, that headbutt moment made it completely worth it."

"It wasn't your fault," Piper reminded him. "Um, actually, there's something you should know. While you were unconscious, one of the cyclopses mentioned a...a past hero they ate. They called him the son of Mercury, and...um, they said he wore a purple shirt and spoke Latin. Kinda like...you."

Rosie felt Jason perk up. "So there's more like me, then? I'm not alone."

Piper shook her head. "You're not alone anyways, Jason, you have us."

His face fell. "Yeah..but Hera...while I was out, I had a dream."

Leo groaned. "I'm really starting to hate those words."

"Believe me, I am too. Anyways, I had a conversation with Hera...she was saying how her imprisonment is starting a war with the giants, and the gods can only beat them with our help, the demigods. And...uh, she mentioned that the giants serve someone, a woman, who can't be defeated. Hera said that woman had to be kept asleep. She also said something about an exchange she caused? I think she did something that made the gods really upset."

"An exchange?" Piper asked. "What does that even mean?"

Rosie kept thinking about Percy Jackson, the camper who went missing from camp half-blood, her brother. She knew there was some link between him and Jason, she just couldn't figure out what.

Jason shook his head. "I have no idea...but I think Hera broke some rule by bringing me to Camp Half Blood."

"Can we go back to the sleeping lady?" Rosie asked. "Leo, that sounds like what you were telling us."

Leo grimaced. "Yeah, about that...she kinda appeared to me in Maine."

"What?" Rosie asked. "When?"

"Right after you went inside Hardy's. She was in a puddle. It really freaked me out, man. She kept asking me to betray you guys and I was like pfft, yeah, right."

The mood on Festus soured.

Piper took a breath. "So this sleeping woman is trying to get us to turn on one another."

_Your friends will lead you astray_. Rosie found herself holding onto Festus tighter.

"Well," Rosie said. "They're going to have to try a lot harder."

"Who even is this woman?" Piper asked angrily. "How is she connected to Enceladus?"

"Um, Enceladus?" Jason asked. That name definitely hadn't been mentioned before.

"Uh-nothing. That's the name of one of the giants- I think."

Leo let out a large breath. "Well, I don't know about this Enchiladas guy-"

"Enceladus," Piper corrected.

Leo waved her off. "Same difference. Puddle Face mentioned another name to me- porcupine, I think?"

"I think you mean Porphyrion," Rosie said. "The giant king."

"How are we supposed to work together with the gods?" Rosie asked, thinking about her father in anger. "They won't even talk to us."

The conversation drifted into a worried silence. A flight to Chicago really didn't take that long when burdened with thoughts of evil giants and possible death. Festus dove between clouds, a city of skyscrapers emerging.

"Chicago," Jason said.

"And that's another lesson from Professor Grace," Leo muttered. "Now, where are these storm spirits?"

"It shouldn't be that hard," Rosie said. "It's the Windy City."

"Teacher's pet."

"There!" Jason pointed, a flash of movement weaving between buildings. "Follow that!"

Festus obliged, slowly descending towards the wind spirit.

"Faster!" Jason urged Leo.

"Dude, we're not exactly under the radar on this thing," Leo replied.

Rosie clutched Leo. "Quick, slow down!" She yelped, feeling sick.

"Bit of a contradiction!" Leo argued, as Festus accidentally clipped the edge of a skyscraper. Rosie's stomach was doing jumping jacks.

"Get higher, Leo," Jason said. "Track him from above."

"Anyone else want to be a backseat driver?" Leo grumbled, pulling the reins to make Festus go higher.

"There's another one!" Piper cried, pointing to a flash of wind.

It connected with the first storm spirit, chaotically colliding with one another. They shot up into the sky rapidly, only to quickly dive back down.

"Those guys don't need anymore caffeine," Leo said, shaking his head. "Trust me on that one."

"Not to freak anyone out or anything, but I think it's some sort of convention," Rosie said, pointing at what appeared to be an art installation, some sort of public fountain. Storm spirits seemed to be having a party, multiple converging at once.

"Is Dylan there?" Leo muttered. "I wanna throw something at him."

"Follow the scent of Axe cologne," Piper grumbled.

The creepy thing about the fountain was the two monoliths rising from the ground, bordering it. They were built out of video screens, video screens flashing a woman's face, her eyes closed.

"Leo…" Jason trailed off nervously.

"Yeah, that's her," Leo said unhappily.

Suddenly, the venti swirled together. Together, as a mass, they popped off the drain cover of the fountain, disappearing.

"Um. Are we supposed to follow them?" Piper asked, sounding unenthusiastic.

"Be my guest, Pipes," Rosie said.

Personally, she wasn't jumping to follow a bunch of Dylans into a drain pipe.

"Let's just get down there," Jason suggested. "We'll check it out."

Leo looked nervous as they dismounted. "I'm not sure Festus can just hang out around here…"

Rosie noticed one of Festus' eyes flickering. "Leo, something's wrong with your dragon's eye."

Leo winced, grabbing a rubber mallet and a whistle out of his belt. He whacked Festus' eye. "There we go." Then he blew the whistle, making Jason, Piper, and Rosie all collectively shudder. "Okay, boy! Hear that? You hear that, you come find us, okay? Until then, just fly. Please don't barbecue anyone."

The dragon snorted gleefully, launching into the air.

Piper grimaced, shifting her weight.

"You okay?" Rosie asked her.

"Yeah. Fine. My ankle is just bothering me again."

Jason frowned. "It might be the nectar wearing off."

"Seriously, I'm fine. Let's just go down that drain."

They nominated Jason to go first. After climbing down, he yelled up, "It's not that bad!"

Climbing down, she saw that he was right. It didn't smell terribly, and the air wasn't especially musty or gross.

"Wow," Piper said. "Are all sewers this nice?"

"No," Leo and Rosie said in unison. They exchanged small smiles.

Jason frowned. "You guys spend a lot of time in sewers?"

"Hey, man, I've been places," Leo said, shrugging.

"Eh, I just do it for fun," Rosie joked, not wanting to get into that part of her life. "Now, which way do we go?"

Jason seemed to pause, listening to the air. "That way," he said, pointing south.

"How do you know?" Piper asked.

"I...don't." He frowned slightly. "But there's a draft that way."

"Sounds like the best we've got." Piper sighed. As soon as she began to walk, she cried out in pain, Jason catching her from stumbling. "Sorry- my stupid ankle-"

"It's okay," Jason told her. "I think we should stop-maybe eat and regroup. What do you guys think? Leo, can your tool belt produce any food?" Rosie nodded- they all just needed rest.

Leo grinned. "Chef Leo is on it. Freckles, follow me!"

She poked her tongue out at Jason and Piper. "We'll try to whip up...something. Maybe keep your expectations low."

"You've obviously never had one of my tacos," Leo said to her. She sat down next to him, as he rummaged through his belt.

"Go ahead and wow me, Chef Leo."

He winked at her, pointing his hands at the ground, flames erupting. "Fire? Check."

Jason and Piper were sitting to the side, out of earshot from them. Piper seemed to be upset- Jason was rubbing her back and whispering something into her ear. Maybe Leo was right- maybe she should talk to Piper, see if she was okay.

"So, this sleeping earth lady-" Rosie began.

Leo waved a spoon menacingly. "None of that talk in my kitchen."

"We're in a sewer, Leo."

"So long as this fire is going, it's my kitchen."

"Hey, one wrong move and I'll extinguish it."

With one swift motion, he handed her a knife and a green bell pepper. "Chop this."

"You're trusting me with this?" She said gleefully.

"Should I?"

"Of course. I'm kind of a champion with these things now," she said, gesturing with the knife.

"Watch it, Freckles."

He was distracting her, and for that, she was grateful. The two of them laughed and joked, Leo cooking beef and tofu as Rosie chopped.

"Please," she begged.

"I told you, no."

"Leo!" She shoved him. "Help me with my Spanish."

"Keep chopping."

"My brain cells are dying," she said dramatically. "I can't live without our Wilderness pottery classes, I _need _learning."

He smirked at her. "_Papas fritas con salsa._" He produced a bag of chips and a jar of salsa from his belt.

"Okay, how are you doing that?"

"Repeat it, already."

"_Papas...fritas con salsa_?" She said slowly, giving him a hopeful look.

"Not bad. Not as great as these tacos are, definitely not. You'll get there."

"You and your tacos. It's a love affair."

"I'm going to open a shop: Chef Leo's Taco Garage."

"Chef Leo and Rosie's Taco Garage."

"Deal. Hey, lovebirds, tacos are ready! Beef and pepper tacos with chips and salsa. Don't worry, Pipes, yours has tofu in it."

The tacos were delicious- she'd never admit that to Leo. The four of them ate together, a tangible tension in the air. She tried to lighten the mood, Leo helping her along the way, but Jason and Piper both seemed down.

"I'm just going to close my eyes for a second…" Piper said, her eyes fluttering closed. She slumped onto Jason's lap, out cold.

Jason's eyes widened, and he suddenly looked very frightened to have a pretty girl sleeping on his lap. Leo and Rosie held in snickers.

"I'm gonna make some lemonade," Leo said, sifting through his pack. "You guys want some?"

"I'll take some, yeah," Jason said, smiling.

Rosie shook her head. "I'm good; I think I'm going to sleep. As comfy as Jason's lap looks, I think I'll go over here…" she positioned herself a few feet away from the two of them.

"Night, Rosie," Jason said.

"Goodnight, sous-Chef!" Leo exclaimed, grinning.

Rosie saluted the two of them, settling down and closing her eyes.


	16. No, Definitely Not Macy's

_She dreamt of the shore._

_She sat there, water rushing up to her feet, soaking her jeans. It didn't feel right; there was no ocean breeze. It was too quiet. _

_The sand beneath her began to concave, almost pulling her down. _

_You're scared._

_Rosie shuddered, that terrible voice in her head again. _

_It's understandable, Rosie. How are some weak, vulnerable demigods supposed to defeat me? It's not possible._

"_Stop." Her voice came out shaky and unconfident. _

_Join me, Rosie. Your friends will betray you. I can give you a life free of fear, a life full of all your desires granted. _

"_They're my friends." She trusted them wholeheartedly. _

_Jason Grace isn't even of your kind- he's the enemy. Leo Valdez will destroy the world. Your best friend Piper? She will not hesitate to betray you, Rosie._

"_No-"_

_Join me._

Rosie woke up startled, a confused Jason looming over her.

"Uh. Hi?"

"How did you even get into that position?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Rosie realized she was lying with her legs stuck straight up firmly against the wall.

"Good question," she said, yawning and trying to somersault off the wall.

"That's nothing," Piper called. "She used to wake up in the weirdest positions back at Wilderness."

Rosie grinned. "I was a legend among common men."

Leo's head sleepily popped off the ground. "How-How long did we sleep?"

"About four hours," Jason said.

Rosie shut her eyes. "We'll be fine," she yawned. "That's nothing compared to the all nighters we would pull."

Leo stood, wiping himself off. "I guess we should go wipe the floor with those storm spirits."

Piper helped Rosie up off the ground. "I'm with Leo. Let's go find out where this creepy sewer leads to." She peered closely at Rosie. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She gave Piper a tight smile. "Maybe I should've skipped out on the salsa last night. It kinda loses its appeal when a cyclops threatens to douse you in it." In reality, she was thinking about her dream- what if that sleeping woman was right? They didn't know who Jason was- what if he was their enemy? After all, he had taken them to Hardy's. Maybe he-

_No_, she told herself. That wasn't possible. She brushed off those thoughts as they began their journey.

The four of them went, twisting and turning down the corridor.

"Guys," Jason called from the front. "Check it out."

In front of them were elevators doors, carved with the letter M. Right next to it was what appeared to be a store directory.

"Macy's?" Piper asked hopefully. "I think they have one in Chicago."

"I don't think Macy's sells poisons," Rosie said, shuddering as she read the directory.

"And what kind of Macy's has kennels?" Leo muttered, glancing at it.

"We'll start at the top," Jason said. "Maybe someone up there can help us."

Rosie let out a little gasp as the elevator doors slid open to reveal the fourth floor. Whatever this was, it was definitely _not_ Macy's. It was like they were in a giant kaleidoscope, the entire ceiling a stained glass mosaic. Streams of colored light washed the room. They were on a circular balcony, the ground floor beneath them. There was lush carpeting beneath their feet. The room reminded her of Piper's eyes, always changing in color. The racks of merchandise were odd collections of things she couldn't quite place.

Leo peered over the railing down below. "Hey, guys, look."

There was an atrium beneath them. A fountain sprayed color-changing water in the air. On either side of the foundation were cages, ones that looked like bird cages. One had a hurricane swirling it, what she assumed to be all of the storm spirits. There had to be at least a dozen in there, all swirling chaotically. The other one was none other than their fearless, tree branch-loving, half-goat Coach Hedge. Rosie felt a surge of relief- he was okay.

"Hedge!" Piper exclaimed. "We have to help-"

"Hi, can I help you four?"

They all jumped at the sight of a woman who just _appeared _in front of them. She was glamorous, wearing a long black dress and five inch heels. Her face was cold but regal, and she had long flowing dark hair. Her red nails reminded Rosie of claws.

The woman smiled. "I just love new customers," she gushed. "How may I help you?"

Rosie, Leo, and Piper looked at Jason expectedly.

"Uh," Jason said. "Hi. This is your store?"

The woman nodded. "It was completely abandoned when I found it. How perfectly convenient, right? It's the perfect place for all your needs: goods at an affordable price! You know what they say, the American Dream and all…"

She felt her guard going down. Rosie liked the woman's pleasant tone; it was nice to listen to. She couldn't possibly be harmful to them. It was _soooo_ nice to finally have someone who _wasn't _going to try to kill them...Rosie appreciated it a lot.

Jason smiled easily. "Welcome to America, I guess."

The woman nodded. "Yes, yes, I suppose I am new. I am the Princess of Colchis. You may call me Your Highness."

"That's exotic," Jason muttered. Rosie nodded; she didn't even know where Colchis was.

Piper gave Jason a tiny shove. "Jason…"

"Oh. Yeah. Actually, Your Highness...our friend is in that cage down there. Gleeson Hedge? May we have him back?"

"Yes!" The Princess agreed enthusiastically. "We shall look at inventory. May I get your names?"

Rosie felt her brain getting fuzzy and warm, almost like it was falling asleep.

Piper had a nervous look on her face. "Jason, maybe don't-"

"Piper," Jason said. "That's Piper. She's silly. This is Leo and Rosie. I'm Jason."

She smiled. "Well, _Jason_, let's negotiate. Time to go shopping." She gestured towards a section of cosmetics. "Potions, anyone?"

"I like potions," Rosie said.

The woman smiled at her. "Lovely, dear."

"Guys," Piper cut in. "We're not here to shop. We're here to get the storm spirits and Hedge-"

"Nonsense," the woman replied, looking at Piper like she was crazy. "There's always time to shop, dear. We'll make it eventually to the first floor, alright?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah! We will! Okay, Piper?"

Rosie groaned. "God, Piper, you're being such a...such a…" She turned to Leo. "What's the word? Kill...killbuzz?"

"Buzzkill!" Leo exclaimed happily.

"Right!" Rosie pointed to Piper, slurring out the words. "Buzzkill."

Piper frowned. "Guys-"

"They're right, sweet Piper," the woman said. "Relax and enjoy."

The woman brought them to a counter full of concoctions. Rosie couldn't help but be _amazed _at it. They were so _colorful_, and they smelled so good! Like cookies- she liked cookies.

"Gather around, children," the woman said, holding a vial of maroon liquid. "This potion cures any disease."

Rosie and Leo both gasped in awe.

"Any disease?" Leo asked in wonder.

"Any disease," the woman replied.

"Any disease!" Rosie said enthusiastically to Jason.

"Cancer? Jason asked, sounding dazed. "Hangnails?"

"Gangrene?" Leo asked.

"Any disease, my sweet children. Even gangrene."

"Even gangrene!" Leo exclaimed, looking thrilled. Rosie beamed at him.

The woman grabbed a different vial- this time one with clear blue liquid. "This one will grant death, very painful death."

"Yay!" Rosie mused. Death- who didn't love death? This lady was awesome.

"Guys," Piper the buzzkill was looking at the three of them with a pleading expression. "We don't have time for this. We have a job to do, _remember_?"

Jason waved her off dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Job. Hero stuff. Duty."

"Duty," Leo and Rosie dissolved in giggles, as Piper let out a frustrated sigh. What was her problem?

"We got potions for everything," the woman explained. "Insanity, memory loss, insomnia-"

"Wait." Piper shot her a suspicious look. "Um, memory loss? It could cure that?"

"Why, yes, my dear girl."

Piper hesitated, before saying, "How much?"

The woman pursed her lips in thought. "I take negotiation very seriously, dear. You see, I love having sales for people, but...I've been cheated in the past." She glanced at Jason, who smiled and waved at her. "I once met a man as handsome as this one, right here. He wanted a treasure from my father's kingdom. I told him I would help him steal it."

"Your dad?" Jason asked, frowning.

"You have to understand, the hero was _very _handsome. Quite like yourself. I'm sure Piper here gets it."

Piper turned a color of deep red. Rosie wasn't really listening: Jason and Piper, who cared?

"I had to betray my own family for this hero. Even then, he cheated me of my own payment."

Rosie was scandalized. "That's not fair!"

Leo shook his head. "Messed up."

The woman nodded. "Yes, you two understand justice, don't you?"

Rosie felt a burst of some sensation she couldn't quite place. The woman was right, though. She knew what it was like to be wronged.

"Your Highness," Piper interrupted. "Can we get back to that vial?"

"I can sense your desire for it, my dear," The woman clucked her tongue. "You would give _anything _for it."

Heck, Rosie would give anything for it.

Piper shook her head vigorously, looking terrified. "No. No, I won't. Not anything-just, um, a fair price. After that, we're leaving. Got it, guys?"

Leave...was there something they had to? She couldn't remember, but for a second, she felt confused.

"Leave," Jason repeated, looking as confused as Rosie felt.

"Maybe...after shopping?" Leo offered.

Rosie nodded. "Piper, we haven't even looked at the weapons yet," she whined.

The princess was studying Piper with an intense gaze. "Hm. Should've pegged you as a child of Aphrodite sooner. No matter- let's continue shopping, then."

"But-" Piper started.

"You all want to continue, right?" the woman asked, directing this question towards Rosie, Jason, and Leo.

"Yeah," Jason said, nodded. "We do."

Leo smiled. "Shopping."

The woman smiled back at him. "Very good- you four are going to need lots of help if you want to make it to the Bay Area."

"Bay Area?" Piper asked. "Why there?"

The woman shook her head, like she couldn't believe Piper was asking such a silly question. "That's where they'll die, isn't it?"

Rosie _loved_ the sound of that.

The next floor was just as awesome as the previous ones. The woman had an entire collection of living fur coats. Rosie grabbed the first one she saw, a long luxurious black-and-white fur coat, one that was _so _soft under her fingertips.

"Feel this coat," She said to Leo, pressing it in his hands. Leo was wearing one of those racoon hats, one that would wiggle its tail occasionally.

Leo's eyes widened. "It's so soft!" he cried.

"I know, right?"

Jason pulled a purple shirt from the rack. "Huh. This looks like my size."

Piper let out an aggravated sigh. "That's because it's yours, Jason!" She turned to the woman. "Your Highness- how about another story? How about you tell them how you betrayed your family?"

Rosie clapped. "Ooh, storytime!"

"I like more story," Leo agreed.

"Love drives people mad, Piper, dear. You of all people should know that- it's your mother's fault for making me love that hero in the first place. It's a shame I can't hold a grudge against a goddess."

"But-your highness-" Piper stammered, her face gone pale. "That hero took you with him when he fled Colchis, right? He married you."

The woman looked unhappy with Piper. Piper just _had _to keep talking. "I helped that hero even _after_ we left our island. My brother came after us with his fleet- I convinced him to come onto our ship to talk. Under a truce."

"And you killed him," Piper spat.

For a second, Rosie's mind went clear. Killed her own brother? "Um, what-"

"Lies," the princess said with venom. "Absolute lies. I may have manipulated the situation, but I didn't kill him! That was my husband. Even then, he still betrayed me."

"How?" Jason frowned.

The woman looked surprised. "Surely you know the story of your namesake, Jason?"

"The original Jason," Piper said. "You should be dead, then!"

"Can't a woman start over, Piper? Sure, I made mistakes. But I did it for love." She turned away from Piper and towards the three of them. "Wouldn't you do the same for the person you loved?"

Rosie nodded intently. She had never been in love, but the princess was right- she'd do _anything_ for the person she loved.

"Absolutely," Leo slurred.

"Sure," Jason said.

"Guys!" Piper exclaimed angrily. "We can't trust her! She's-"

"Let's move on, then," the princess said. "I know we wanted to discuss a price for those pesky storm spirits-oh, and your satyr."

Floor two made Leo squeal- the floor of electronic appliances. His face lit up like a kid in the candy store.

"I can't believe it!" He sped towards an oven."You have an armored forge?"

"Beautiful taste, Leo." The woman approached him. "It's our latest model- the H-2000, designed by Hepheastus himself."

"So cool," he muttered.

"What is this?" Rosie asked, examining a golden throne. It was pretty.

"One of my finest items, of course, Rosie! Leo's father made it to punish Hera. Sit it in and you'll be trapped."

The woman's forceful tone felt like a push- she wanted to sit there. No, she _had_ to sit there.

Just as she was about to, a voice appeared in her head: _No._

She stopped, unsure of continuing.

_Wake up, Rosie. _

"Is everything alright, my dear?" the woman asked.

Rosie blinked away the confusion. Everything was alright. She gave the woman a smile and a nod.

"Now," she said, leading Rosie and Leo back to Jason and Piper. "Let's look at what you came here for, shall we?"

The woman brought them to the base of the fountain. Rosie noticed two large sundials on the marble tile floor. She glanced at the cages: the storm spirits were moving too quickly; it made her dizzy.

Leo grinned. "Coach looks okay, you guys!"

He was right. Coach seemed to be frozen in the moment he was sucked into the sky: frozen mid-shout, branch raised over his head. The goat legs and hooves still threw her off.

"He's in excellent condition," the woman gushed. "Perhaps we could negotiate? Maybe the storm spirits and satyr can be a package deal."

"Yes," Piper said quickly. "Negotiation."

"Sweet!" Leo cried. "Name your price!"

"Leo!" Piper snapped, clearly aggravated.

Her Highness laughed. "Let's review- you want the satyr freed, and my storm spirits? And let me guess, you're going to hand over my servants to that fool Aeolus? Now, is that fair?"

"You're Medea," Piper said, her voice dripping with venom. "You helped Jason- not our Jason- steal the Golden Fleece. You're a villain. Guys, we can't trust her."

Piper sounded genuine-maybe she was right? She felt some of the fog clear.

"What..what's going on?" Leo was confused.

"Yes, I suppose I am Medea...but you can trust me! Is it so wrong that I chose my own destiny? I made a pact with my Jason- get the fleece in exchange for his love. Fair and square, he's only a hero because of me."

"Wait." Jason furrowed his brow. "You came back from the Underworld?"

Medea hissed. "I am no prisoner to death. I am flesh and blood, all thanks to my patron."

Leo blinked. "You...reformed? Um, like a monster?" Rosie thought about the cyclops reforming, and she slowly backed away from Medea.

Medea was snarling at them. "Things far worse than monsters stirring from Tartarus are happening. You don't understand that, do you? I have finally returned- and I won't be cheated this time."

"You're just as crazy as you were back then," Piper rolled her eyes.

"Lies!"

"The original Jason dumped you for another king's daughter."

"I bore him two children!" Medea wailed. "He broke that promise! Isn't that wrong?"

Rosie found herself nodding along in agreement. Original Jason sounded like a jerk.

"You murdered your children to get back at him," Piper snapped.

"Aren't you listening?! I am the victim here! That hero broke my heart AND broke his promise! I don't trust heroes-especially not ones named Jason."

Rosie sleepily turned to Jason. "Hey, that's your name…"

"We're leaving," Piper told them. "Now."

"This fountain," Medea quickly cut in. "It's magic. A dead man could be thrown into it, and he would pop back out even stronger!"

"She's lying," Piper snapped. "Don't listen to her."

"My price is simple. Jason, Leo- fight each other. No one will get hurt, not with the fountain here. You want to fight, don't you?"

"No!" Piper screamed.

"And Rosie, my dear. I think it's time to fight Piper, don't you think?"

Rosie felt some anger build up: in that moment, she wanted to punch Piper in the face.

"Gladly," Rosie snarled, snapping her fingers. A tornado of water rose from the fountain, under her control. Whoa- had she done that? She almost didn't recognize herself. "You never shut up about Jason. You don't even care about me." Rosie almost took a step back, shocked from the words coming out of her mouth. But part of her knew it was true.

Piper had tears in her eyes. "Rosie," she pleaded. "I'm not going to fight you. Please don't fight me." Rosie rolled her eyes at her.

Leo scowled at Jason. "You always have to be the star, don't you? You always steal my thunder."

"I'm the son of Zeus, idiot," Jason snapped. "You're annoying! Do you ever take anything seriously?" Both of them had weapons drawn, ready to fight.

"Guys," Piper's voice shook. "Let's not-"

"It's over, Piper," Medea said. "Let it happen- Enceladus will be thrilled. Maybe you can even have your father back today!"

Piper's father? What did he have to do with this?

"You work for Enceladus?" Piper asked, shocked.

Medea laughed. "Gods, no. We do, however, serve the same patron- one who will not be defeated. Walk away, daughter of Aphrodite. Save yourself, and your father will be freed."

Rosie felt like she was supposed to drown Piper- only problem was, she felt as if she couldn't.

She couldn't tell what was going on- Medea was showing Piper an image shimmering in the water. Piper was crying.

"You trapped my dad…" She let out a sob. "You helped the giants-"

"Nonsense. I can tell the future, you know- I'm even better than an oracle. I've seen visions of the eight from the Great Prophecy. Two of your little friends here are important enemies to me. My patron had a little visit to Leo Valdez-"

"His mom." Piper gasped. "Leo, she helped to kill your mom!"

"Okie dokie," Leo said, dazed. "When can I attack Jason?"

"And your little friend, Rosie, here?" Rosie perked up at the mention of her name. "My patron was especially interested in her brother-"

Piper shook her head. "Rosie doesn't have a brother."

It was like a volt of electricity went through Rosie's body: Max? Why was Medea talking about Max? She felt her hand lower, the intensity of the water tornado faltering.

"Max?" Rosie asked, her words coming out weak.

Piper's eyes went wide. "Rosie!" she shrieked, tackling her friend to the ground.

Rosie grunted in pain as she fell to the floor. "Ow, Piper-"

"Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you...what..what's going?"

"Shut your eyes. No, cover your ears!"

Rosie gave her a confused look. "Well, which one!?"

"Cover your ears."

Rosie quickly obliged, placing her hands over her ears. She knelt by the fountain, as Medea snarled at Piper. Whoa- were Jason and Leo about to attack each other?

She couldn't hear what was going on. She saw Piper screaming at Jason and Leo, the two of them slowly appearing to come out of a daze…

Medea snarled, pressing one of the mosaic tiles on the floor. The building began to rumble, and for one scary second, Rosie thought _she_ was doing it. She uncovered her ears.

The sundials Rosie noticed before suddenly swung open. Two golden dragons crawled out from it. There weren't as large as Festus, but still- more dragons were the last thing she needed.

"Um, I think I know what the kennels are for!" Leo exclaimed in a high-pitched tone.

Something was wrong with these dragons- they had glowing orange eyes, ones that seemed to radiate heat.

"Don't look at them in the eyes!" Jason ordered. "They'll paralyze you!"

"Indeed!" Medea laughed, riding up an escalator.

Piper growled. "I've got her," she said, following after Medea.

Leo yelped, ducking out of the way as one of the dragons chased after him.

This distracted Rosie, causing Jason to yell, "Rosie, look out!"

Rosie screamed in pain, flying across the room as the other dragon knocked into her. He snarled, baring its teeth at her. Rosie, ignoring her throbbing wrist, stood up, glaring right back at the dragon. The dragon opened its mouth, ready to spew flames into her face. _Not so fast- _Rosie flicked her hand, causing the dragon to be doused with water from the fountain.

This made the dragon angry-_really_ angry. It lifted its claw, ready to tear her into a million pieces. She held her arms in front of her face, bracing for the pain-which never came. The dragon hissed in pain, turning onto its side, Jason emerging behind it with his sword in hand.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "Thanks. But, Jason-"

She winced as the dragon threw Jason across the room, chasing after him.

Leo cursed loudly. Rosie glanced at him, where he and the other dragon were both releasing fire at each other. Leo's hand started shaking, and Rosie could tell he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. Leo grunted in pain, falling over and gasping for breath.

"No!" Rosie leaped forward, just as the dragon was about to take another fiery breath. She threw up her hands, water shooting forward and solidifying, acting almost like a shield, protecting them from the fire.

"How are you doing that?" Leo exclaimed, raising his eyebrows at her.

"I have no idea!" She replied, the strength leaving her body.

She couldn't take the effort anymore- she fell onto her face. She felt Leo's hand on her body.

"Blow the whistle!" she yelled to him.

"I don't know where it is!"

"What?!"

_Thwack._ Rosie grunted as the dragon's tail whipped her in the face. She placed a hand to her face, and almost threw up when she saw that it was bloody.

The dragon grabbed Leo in its claw, flying to the other side of the room, where Jason was fighting the other one. What was that, right in front of them? She squinted harder, only to find that it was Leo's orange whistle. She _had_ to get that whistle.

"Help!" Leo cried. He was pinned under one of the dragons, while Jason fought a losing battle with the other. The whistle needed to be blown.

Slowly, she began to army crawl across the floor. This proved to be a harder effort than she thought it would be, for her whole body ached. Getting body-slammed by a dragon _really hurt. _Shaking, she reached out her hand towards the whistle. Almost there. Her fingertips grasped it, and with one final crawl, she reached it, placing it in her mouth and definitely not thinking about the last mouth that was on it. With one blow, she produced a shrill, high-pitched sound.

"The building is going to be destroyed!" She heard Medea scream to Piper from above, the entire floor in flames- she didn't know how Piper did it. "You don't have time-"

_CRASH._ Rosie jumped as the glass of the ceiling began to rain down upon her, multicolored shards cutting her. Festus flew in, swiping up each dragon in one of his claws. Rosie had never been so happy to see that hunk of metal.

"Yes!" Leo whooped, throwing his fist in the air. He ran over to the fountain, opening the sundials again.

Festus hurled the two dragons back where they came from. Once his claws were open again, he grabbed both of the canary cages. The air was starting to become smoky, making Rosie's eyes water. Rosie winced as Festus picked her up, throwing her onto his back. She held her hand out to Jason, who hopped on behind her.

"Thanks, boy!" Jason said to Festus. "Now get Leo!"

Festus swooped up behind Leo, Leo quickly climbing into the driver's seat.

"That's my dragon! Go get beauty queen!" Leo told him, pulling on his reins.

Festus happily obliged, soaring up, catching a plummeting Piper just in time.

"You'll never survive your quest, heroes!" Medea screamed in rage, as Festus headed towards the sky.

"Whatever!" Piper called out, flames consuming Medea's store.

They reached the Chicago skyline just as the store exploded.


	17. Des Moines is For Arguments

"I gotta say, Pipes," Leo said, breaking the silence that followed them from Medea's store. "You really saved our butts back there."

Piper smiled at him. "Don't worry about it."

"No, seriously," he emphasized. "Who knows what we would've done-"

"Leo," Piper said gently. "It's fine."

Leo was echoing Rosie's thoughts- probably Jason's thoughts, too.

The encounter with Medea had left her spooked; she was so easily manipulated. Is that what happened whenever Piper used her charmspeak on someone?

Not only that, but something Medea had mentioned stuck in Rosie's mind: she had mentioned her brother. Max.

How did that lady know Max? More importantly, who was the patron she was talking about? The one supposedly interested in Max?

She glanced over her shoulder at Piper, who was frowning. "Yeah, Piper. I tell ya, if there's ever a zombie apocalypse, I'm sticking with you."

Piper didn't smile, just nodded flatly. "Right," she said in a cold tone.

Rosie's heart sank. Piper was upset with her- she had a strong inkling as to why. She and Piper had been on weird terms lately. Back at Wilderness, it was like they were on the same wavelength. Since they were "extracted" from Wilderness, it was like they were on two completely different pages.

"Piper-" Rosie began carefully.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Jason shot her a look, like _What's up with her? _Rosie shook her head, turning forwards again.

"Brrrr," Leo muttered under his breath. "It's chilly up here."

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying, you and Piper don't fight-"

"We're not fighting," she whispered. That was slightly the worst part- they weren't even fighting. "We're having a... colorful discussion."

"So," Jason cut in, probably eager to change the subject. "Where are we headed, exactly?"

"Bay Area," Leo replied. "Medea mentioned something about that, right?"

"Medea mentioned a lot of things," Piper muttered angrily.

Rosie snapped around. "Really? Are we really going to do this? _Right now_?"

"Do what?" Piper asked innocently.

"Piper, what are-"

"Guys, come on," Jason pleaded. "Medea was vicious. We didn't expect her to bring up Piper's dad or Rosie's brother-"

"Wait." Piper cut him off. "Did you know?"

"Uh. Sorry, what?" Rosie turned around to see Jason throw her a pleading _SOS _look.

"Did you know about Rosie's brother? What was his name, Max?" She snapped.

Jason's face went blank. "Um…"

Piper's face went hard. "Answer, Jason." Rosie could've sworn she detected a bit of charmspeak in her voice.

Jason frowned, looking down. "Yeah. I mean, it came up…"

Piper held her breath, like she was about to explode and unleash a terrifying fury. She took a second to compose herself-emerging with a calmer composure.

"Right," she said, laughing humorlessly. "What about you, Valdez? Did Rosie blab her entire life story to you, too?"

"That's not fair, Piper," Rosie cut in.

"I'm just focusing on the road," Leo muttered to himself, inching closer towards Festus' head.

"Let me guess," Piper spat. "Festus knew about Max."

"Of course _not_," Rosie emphasized, trying to joke lightly. "Festus and I aren't even friends!"

Piper rolled her eyes. "Not helping."

Okay, so it was a bad time for joking.

"Pipes…" Rosie trailed off, unsure of how to maneuver this.

"Stop. Please stop, okay?" She glanced around Rosie at Leo. "Can we land for a second?"

Leo shot a nervous look at Rosie and Jason. "Pipes, we should probably-" he started.

"I need to get off this thing. Please land."

Another command, spoken powerfully, willed Leo to nod his head and say, "You got it, Beauty Queen."

Rosie felt seized by a rush of panic as Festus began to descend. Festus landed in a field of farmland, a single warehouse about thirty feet away. As soon as he touched the grounded, Piper hopped off and started walking away.

Rosie clumsily slipped off, sprinting after her. "Piper, wait!"

She chased after her, until Piper finally let out an annoyed huff and turned around. "What?"

"I get it. You're mad I didn't tell you about my brother." Her hands were shaking. She so, so didn't want to talk about this.

Piper stared at her coldly. "You completely left me in the dark. You told Jason _and_ Leo about it. Leo, of all people!"

Leo and Jason appeared, Leo a confused look on his face. "What's wrong with telling me something?"

Rosie wanted to agree- Leo was also her best friend, what was so bad about telling him something?

Piper sighed. "Come on, Leo, Jason's right. You never take anything seriously."

Leo went silent.

Jason frowned. "Come on, Piper, I didn't mean that-"

"To be fair, I don't either," Rosie shot in. "Excuse me if I don't want to rehash my brother's death over and over again."

"Seriously, Pipes, cut her some slack," Leo muttered.

"No!" Piper yelled. "I'm sorry that happened, Rosie, but I'm hurt. I thought...I thought you'd tell me that…"

"She only told me because we were at her apartment in Maine!" Leo blurted out defensively.

He probably meant for this information to help her cause, but it just caused both Piper and Jason to gasp. Rosie shot him a look.

"Okay, see, Rosie, that's the type of thing you _tell _people," Piper snapped.

"Piper!" Rosie said. "It was private…"

"Private enough that you told both of them," she said, gesturing towards the boys. "Not me."

"It was completely on accident with Jason," Rosie pleaded. "We were talking about our families-"

"Families," Piper repeated.

"Rosie-" Jason began.

"Yes," Rosie emphasized. "I, _offhandedly_, mentioned Max and Jason mentioned his sister-" She broke off abruptly, cursing her stupidity.

"A sister," Piper said to herself.

Rosie turned to Jason and Leo, exasperated. "Will one of you shut me up already?!" She really had her foot in her mouth.

Piper glared at her. "I just don't know why you aren't _talking _to me. It's easy, look, I'm doing it right now!"

Rosie felt a flash of anger. She begged her body to _please calm down. _She couldn't help it, though.

"Come on, Piper, let's not act like you haven't been preoccupied."

Piper groaned, throwing her head back. "We're back to this!"

"Yeah, we are!" She shouted. "All you care about is Jason, and what your relationship status is! You don't even know him!" She glanced at Jason. "No offense!"

"Guys!" Jason exclaimed. "Come on, stop fighting!"

"We're not fighting!" They said in unison.

Piper turned back to Rosie. "I may not know everything about Jason, but I know that he's been there for me a lot more than you. You don't know half of it!"

And yet Piper was yelling at her for not telling her anything? When she was hiding things from Rosie? Rosie couldn't help it- she had to laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation.

"What is this?! Geez, Piper, I'm not going to yell at you in a field in the middle of-" she paused, realizing she didn't know where they were. She looked to Jason and Leo. "Where the heck are we?"

Leo scratches his head. "Um, Des Moines, Iowa. I think."

Piper's face faltered. "Wait, really? Des Moines?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Piper went pale. "Oh my god."

"Piper, are you okay?" Jason asked, getting increasingly worried. He took a step forward.

Piper's eyes snapped to the warehouse lying a few yards away from them. "I need...I need to go there. That building-I need to go inside."

"What, why?"

Her eyes got a faraway look in them. "My dad…" she started running towards the building.

"Piper, wait!" Jason yelled, chasing after her.

Rosie couldn't breathe. She placed her hands on her knees, hyperventilating. It was going to happen, again. She knew it: her emotions hadn't been this out of check in forever. She had to get away; if she didn't, she was going to hurt her friends.

She was so panicked she didn't even realize that Leo's mouth was moving, forming words she couldn't hear.

"What?"

"We gotta go after her, right?" Leo asked nervously, fiddling with her belt.

"I...I can't," she whispered. Leo didn't understand. She didn't want to hurt anybody. Not again.

"What? Freckles, I know Beauty Queen's mad at you, but she'll get over it! She has to! You're Rosie and Piper!" He said, wildly thrashing his arms.

Leo started to walk after Jason and Piper, but not before she grabbed Leo's arm.

"Piper and I don't fight," she said miserably.

Leo nodded. "I know. Come on. Let's fix it."

The two of them ran toward the warehouse, leaving Festus with the canary cages. As they approached the building, Rosie nearly retched at the smell.

"What is _that_?" She said, making a face of disgust.

Leo plugged his nose, shaking his head. "Look," He gritted through his teeth, nodding towards a sign.

"What does it say?" She asked. "I can't...it's all garbled."

"'Amail's Slaughterhouse'. Great," Leo muttered. "A creepy slaughterhouse, what could possibly go wrong?

Rosie felt nauseous. "The fact that Piper's a vegetarian and _willingly_ went inside…."

He shook his head. "Come on," He said, opening the door. "Let's go."

The slaughterhouse, thankfully, appeared to be out of use. Inside was an empty room with concrete floors and glass windows. It was chilly; she didn't like how it felt in the room.

"Uh, Jason? Piper? Where are you guys?" Leo called out.

"Upstairs," Jason's voice seemed to echo through the warehouse. "Come on up."

Rosie began to walk forward, but Leo quickly stuck his arm out in front of her.

"Not so fast," he said. "Yo, Jason! What was the body part you happened to head butt a cyclops in?"

She heard a faint sigh from Jason. "Are we really going to do this, Leo?"

"Hey, man, you could be a cyclops for all I know."

"Ugh. Okay. I headbutted a cyclops in the groin."

Leo grinned at her. "I think it's safe."

Upstairs didn't look much different from downstairs, but it was much, much darker. There appeared to be some cargo boxes lying sporadically on the floor, along with some rope covering the ground in crisscross patterns. She could vaguely see Jason, his arm around Piper. Rosie could tell she had been crying-her eyes were bloodshot.

Leo looked around, slightly confused. "So is there a reason we're congregating in the creepy abandoned slaughterhouse?"

Jason shot him a look.

Leo held up his hands. "What? Valid question!"

"Piper...thought her dad would be here."

"Piper's dad?" Leo asked, visibly confused. "What's wrong with Piper's dad?"

"He was supposed to be here!" Piper exclaimed, running a hand through her hair. "I had a dream, a dream about a slaughterhouse in Des Moines-"

"Vegetarians dream about some weird things, man," Leo muttered, shaking his head.

"Leo!"

"Sorry! Continue the story, please."

"Anyways, my dad was in the slaughterhouse. He was trapped in this golden net-" She began to back up, visibly agitated.

A golden net. Something about that image bothered her.

Rosie glanced down at her feet as Piper continued to talk. As she squinted through the dark, she realized it wasn't rope like she originally thought. Instead, it was a fine golden netting. She remembered her dream, the dream where she was caught in a golden net. She was trapped.

A trap.

"Wait!" Rosie screamed over Piper's voice. "It's a trap!"

Snap.

Suddenly, she was thrown into the air as her foot was yanked upward, caught in some rope. She felt the blood rising to her head as she was hanging upside down. She was really getting sick of that. They were entangled in a golden net, all four of them. Rosie was upside down, her head on top of Leo's shoulder, her eyes looking directly into Jason's. Piper was sandwiched behind Leo, her face pressed up against the net.

"Well done, Rosemary."

She couldn't tell where the voice was coming from- it was so dark after all. All she knew was that it was terrifying.

Jason's eyes were wide with panic, and Rosie felt like it was echoing her expression.

"Who-who is that?" Her voice came out shaky.

Jason shook his head. "I-I don't know. Guys?"

"Hold on-" Leo gritted through his teeth. "Looking for something..." She could tell he was rummaging through his tool belt.

"Guys." Piper's voice shook. "Someone's coming."

"Who?" She exclaimed.

"Oh, none of you know me. But I know you," the voice teased. It was a woman, she thought.

She heard a noise, something that sounded like slithering. A shadow appeared- the silhouette of a woman. Slowly, she emerged into the light.

Her face was beautiful- she could've been a Queen, for all Rosie knew. She had long flowing brown hair, and pale, fair skin. But, she was missing eyes- she realized with a shudder that she just had slits.

As she continued into the light, she quickly realized she wasn't truly human. Her legs weren't there- instead, she had a green tail of scales. A serpent's tail. As the woman smiled, Rosie flinched at the sight of crocodile teeth, teeth that matched perfectly with her lizard-like claws.

"Ah, yes." The women smiled. "Hera's little heroes."

The woman circled them, slightly hissing as she did.

"Aha!" Leo whispered to himself, pulling out a wire cutter from the tool belt.

"Don't bother, Leo Valdez," the woman hissed. "It won't work. So long as you're in that net, none of your powers work."

Leo's wire cutters slipped from his fingers.

"Who are you?" Jason demanded, struggling to turn his head toward her.

The women stopped in front of the net, smiling up at Jason. "Jason Grace. Son of Zeus. I'd recognize that smile anywhere."

Jason faltered. "How-how do you know me? Or my dad?"

The woman sighed longingly. "Oh, you really are handsome. I'll be sorry to eat your flesh."

The gears in Rosie's mind started to turn: serpent lady. Knows Zeus. Devours Flesh. Amail- the letters rearranged themselves to form a name Rosie didn't want to hear, a terrifying story Piper had told her what seemed to be a million years ago.

"Oh god."

Jason looked at her concerned. "What? What is it?"

"Lamia," Rosie said. "You're Lamia."

Piper wailed.

Leo's breathing increased. "What-what's going on? Medea? I thought we left that chick back in Chicago."

"Lamia," Piper said in a frightened tone. "Not Medea."

"Who's Lamia?" Jason asked.

"Ah, boys," Lamia chided. "Perhaps you should listen more to Rosemary and Piper. I suppose we can take some time to review. Rosemary, you start..."

She couldn't stop shaking. She felt so dizzy, and so terrible that she was basically crushing Leo with her entire body. Her entire body was clenched with an angry tension.

She gulped. "You had an affair with Zeus. Hera found out..."

Lamia nodded. "Very good, child. Perhaps Piper McLean could take over."

Piper was crying. She could tell by her sniffling. "When-when she found out, she killed your children and plagued you with insomnia."

"Rosemary?"

"Stop calling me that."

"Come on, Rosemary," Lamia tilted her head sideways. "Tell me what happened."

"When that happened, you started taking other people's children, and devouring their flesh." She felt sick to her stomach.

"And..." Piper continued. "Since you couldn't sleep, Zeus gave you the power to remove your eyes."

"Well done, girls. Now, who wants to be eaten first? I have to say, I'm a bit partial to the son of Zeus."

"I'd like to see you try," Jason shot back.

Lamia threw her head back and laughed. "And what defense do you have? Look at the four of you-_helpless_. Perhaps I'll start with the scrawny one..."

"Snake lady, you better not be talking about me..." Leo grumbled, shifting uncomfortably under Rosie's weight.

Lamia frowned. "Scrawny one it is..."

"Wait!" Rosie cried, sticking a hand outside of the net.

"Rosemary. Daughter of Poseidon. What do you want?"

"You don't necessarily have to eat us. I mean, isn't that a missed opportunity?" She closed her eyes, anything to stop the pounding in her head.

"I hardly know what you mean."

"You hate Hera. We do too, but wouldn't it be the best revenge to hold her heroes as prisoners?"

"Where you going with this, Freckles?" Leo muttered.

Rosie shushed him with her hand. "You could kill us. I just think that wouldn't be as fun as holding us as prisoners."

Lamia seemed to think this over. "I could do that." She paused. "Or-"

Suddenly, the net broke and the four of them fell onto the ground. Rosie fell on her side, wincing in pain. She heard the groans of pain from her friends.

"Or...I could get my revenge for what the gods have done to me."


	18. Crumbling

"You see, little heroes," Lamia said as the four of them floundered on the ground, trying to pull themselves together. "After Hera killed my children, I wanted her to know the pain. I wanted her to know what loss was like."

"She-she can manipulate the Mist," Piper muttered to them under her breath, trying to entangle herself from the net.

"Nobody panic," Jason whispered, getting up.

"Slightly panicking," Leo shot back.

Lamia slithered closer to them. "I smelled you all from miles away. You know why?"

"Because we're sweaty demigods who haven't been able to shower?" Leo muttered.

Lamia bared her teeth. "I don't appreciate the humor, Leo Valdez."

Leo suddenly screamed, falling backwards and crawling away from Lamia. "Fire!" He yelled, thrashing wildly on the ground, eyes fixed on the floor.

A sob of desperation came from Rosie. "What is she doing to him?" she called out to Jason and Piper.

"Your friend Piper is right," Lamia said. "What Mr. Valdez is seeing here is an effect of the Mist. Mist Manipulation, that is."

"Rosie, put it out!" Leo screamed. "Help!"

Rosie felt her fists clench. But she did _nothing_\- just stood there, feeling the heat culminating in her body, a rumbling in her stomach forming.

"Stop it!" Piper screamed, trying to sound confident and in control. "Stop it now."

Lamia laughed. "You think your charmspeak is enough to control me?" Lamia looked Piper up and down, as Piper uneasily backed up. "I think it's time you walk in my shoes, child."

Piper suddenly doubled over, stumbling into the wall, clutching at her eyes. "I can't see!" She screamed in agony, groping blindly around.

"Piper!" Jason exclaimed, as his eyes glinted murderously.

He whipped out his sword, pointing it at Lamia.

"You better stop right now," he warned, baring his sword.

"Or what? You'll kill me, only to run into another monster tomorrow? It's demigods like you who need to be taken down a few pegs," Lamia snarled. "Children of the Big Three, bah- children like you are the reason I put a scent on demigods, one that could be tracked by any monster anywhere."

Rosie stood there, shaking and feeling helpless. She was split into two: the girl who wanted to help her friends, and the past thirteen-year-old girl who was scared out of her mind about hurting someone.

"I'll blow you to bits," Jason said, sounding completely calm, but with a fierce fire in his ice blue eyes.

Lamia shook her head. "No, you won't."

Jason got a dazed look in his eyes. "Rosie," He gritted through his teeth, as his face became slack. He threw her his sword, which Rosie caught, narrowly avoiding impaling herself. "Don't...let…"

He trailed off, suddenly throwing his hands up to his eyes, grunting in pain.

"Trying to gouge out his own eyes," Lamia said, approaching Rosie. "That's always an entertaining one."

"Stop it," Rosie said, shaking as she held the sword out.

Lamia laughed, her crocodile teeth sparkling. "You think you can fight me just because that Grace boy practiced fighting with you for one night?"

_How does she know that?!_ She thought to herself.

"Come on, Rosemary," Lamia pleaded. "We don't need to fight. Put down the sword."

"N-no." Her entire body was shaking. She glanced at her friends: Piper crawling around on the floor, Jason screaming as he tried to pull out his eyes, Leo rolling around on the floor. She just wanted this to _stop_.

"I could help," Lamia offered. She twisted a lizard claw towards Rosie. "Or…"

A hole opened up in the floor. Rosie screamed as it pulled her in. However, she landed on her face on the concrete ground, and had to remind herself that Lamia could control the mist.

_Not real_, she reminded herself. _Not real not real not real-_

"I don't want to hurt you," Lamia said flatly.

"Get away," She gritted through clenched teeth, hoping she sounded more confident than she was feeling.

Jason's sword felt wrong in her hands. It was getting heavier and heavier; were swords always this heavy? It had to be at least 100 pounds. Rosie screamed out in pain, dropping the sword.

Lamia was studying her with an interested focus. "I just don't understand, Rosemary Reiger," she said. "How could you be _fine _with being their pawn?"

She felt a hard force behind her push her to the ground. Rosie turned around to be face-to-face with a serpent-like creature, hissing in her face. She leaned forward, vomiting as a whole gaggle of them appeared.

She didn't know these monsters' names, but she recognized them immediately. They were there that night, the night everything crumbled.

Lamia knew what Rosie did. _She knew._

She cried out as the monsters surrounded her, poking and hissing at her.

She shut her eyes tightly. _They're not real_.

She rocked back and forth, listening to the screams of her friends.

"You're like me," she heard Lamia say. "You've been wronged by the gods."

Rosie laid on the ground, covering her eyes, anything to block it out.

"You don't know, Rosie, do you? The gods destroyed your family. Open your eyes, Rosie."

Her eyes flew open, unable to ignore Lamia's command.

_Her father was standing in front of her, looking right into her eyes. He looked exactly the same as the memory in her head: black hair, sea-green eyes, tan skin, and a warm, warm feeling surrounding him. The smell of sea salt in the air. It was silent except for a slight buzzing, a buzzing in Rosie's ears._

_Her father's expression was distraught. He looked terribly upset, and yet? Rosie felt the urge to smile at him. It was she was six again, and her dad was her best friend._

"_Dad," she whispered, her voice full of sorrow and longing and bitterness. _

_Her father said nothing. She realized her father wasn't looking at her, but slightly through her, as if she weren't there._

"_He's my son." Her father spoke in a pleading tone._

_This had to be a memory, something that happened in the past. Rosie turned around, finding herself standing in front of another man. He smelled of rain. His shoulder-length black hair was neatly combed, along with styled salt-and-pepper beard. As soon as she looked into his electric blue eyes, she knew who he was. She didn't see Zeus when she looked at him, she saw her friend Jason Grace. Their two natures were different, though. While Jason was levelheaded and hardly had a temper, Zeus seemed to give off an aura of rumbling thunder. He was terrifying._

"_He's too dangerous." _

"_And your children are not, brother?"_

"_She won't poach my children for her own use," Zeus snapped. Rosie could imagine bolts of lightning ricocheting off of him._

_Her father had a look of despair on his face; he seemed to be shrinking in Zeus' presence. "I can protect him. He'll be safe and out of harm's way from her."_

_They had to be talking about Percy Jackson. Everyone at camp had told her how powerful he was._

_Zeus glared murderously. "Remind me, brother, how old is the child?"_

_Her father let out a sigh. "He's only six."_

_Rosie felt a gasp leave her body. Max- they were talking about Max._

"_Six and already the child is too powerful," Zeus replied. _

"_His name is Max," her father replied venomously. _

"_You knew what would happen if you stayed with that stupid mortal woman."_

"_Marina," Poseidon shot back. "Have the respect to use their names, brother."_

"_The boy must die."_

"_No!" Rosie screamed. But she wasn't heard._

_Poseidon gulped. "There has to be another way."_

_Zeus raised his eyebrows. "Unless you want both to die?"_

_Her father went pale. "No. Not Rosie. Please."_

"_She wants the Reiger children."_

_Her father hesitated, tears welling in his eyes. "Max...Max will be taken care of," he reluctantly stated. "Rosie-I'll keep her under the radar. No one will know about her- Percy, I can't hide Percy. He's already out. Rosie...I can hide Rosie. Please, brother.'_

"_Max will die," Zeus said, seemingly reminding him._

_Her father nodded. "Max will die."_

The scene dissolved, a chill going through Rosie's body as she fell back onto the slaughterhouse floor, letting out a loud sob that seemed to echo through the room.

She felt a wave of sadness and _anger _for Max. That was her brother. _Her brother._

Rosie weakly peeked around the room. Piper was screaming, still crawling on the ground. Jason was trying to stand up, no longer gouging his eyes out but still seemingly dazed. Leo was wrapped in Lamia's tail, him turning blue as Lamia's glance landed on Rosie.

"I know the truth hurts, Rosemary," she said with false sympathy. "You're angry, and hurt. I get it."

Rosie continued crying, sobbing for her brother and letting out the anger at her father. How could he? How could he?

"It's time to decide your destiny, Rosie," Lamia said, her tail wrapping around Leo tighter. "Join me."

"Join you…." the words came out of her weakly.

Would that be so terribly, joining Lamia? She had no family, thanks to her father. Piper was upset with her. Rosie didn't even know who Jason really was...and to be related to that _monster_ didn't sit well with her. Leo didn't think she was a terrible person, but he didn't _know_….

Her eyes landed on Leo, her friend. He was on the verge of losing consciousness, as his eyes were fluttering.

He had reminded her that they weren't defined by their tragedies. Her mind went back to the story he told, when he was eight and his mom was killed by that sleeping woman.

The sleeping woman and her allies were no better than the gods- they destroyed lives too.

Suddenly, it was like she was hit with a flash of white-hot rage. Everything that had happened-Leo's problems with the sleeping woman,the fight with Piper,the Medea encounter, Hera stealing Jason's memories, the revelation about her father- culminated in an implosion of anger within herself.

She could feel it coming. The anger consumed her. She felt as if she were on fire- she wondered if this was how it felt for Leo. She could feel it coming. And this time, she wasn't going to stop it.

"You shouldn't have done that," she warned Lamia in a low tone, as she slowly rose from the ground. The rumbling in her body didn't shake her- if anything, she was stabilized.

Lamia laughed, loosening her grip slightly on Leo. "I'm not scared of you, demigod."

"You should be," she snapped with venom.

That's when the building began to sway. The pulsing throughout Rosie's body seemed to transfer to the ground, as the floor began pounding, up and down and up and down. The building seem to rumble up and down fiercely, but Rosie was rigidly fixed in one place. The glass windows shattered, raining down shards that littered the ground.

They didn't call Poseidon the god of earthquakes for nothing.

Lamia's face dropped. "What-What are you doing?!" She exclaimed. "Stop that!"

Rosie could barely hear her, for the rumbling became louder, as the cargo crates on the ground started to shake, some of them bursting open. Overheard, what appeared to be sprinklers exploded, rain coming down as plumbing pipes burst. The entire building was shaking, enough to give a normal person vertigo.

This seemed to shake her friends out of their stupor. Piper's jaw dropped, looking at Rosie in shock as she narrowly dodged a falling brick from above. Piper's body seemed to bounce off the ground, and the building wavered dangerously. Lamia's tail unfurled, dropping Leo like a sack of potatoes next to Piper. He laid there, barely conscious but alive.

Jason did a double take at Rosie, as if he couldn't believe what was happening. "Rosie, what-"

Jason barely had time to jump out of the way, as a huge chunk of the ceiling fell down next to him, cracking the floor beneath it.

Rosie could feel the cracks forming below her feet, water slipping through the cracks. They were getting bigger, slowly but surely. All of her friends were trembling, as the building continued to shake violently.

_Crack._

The cracks were getting bigger, as dust rained down from the ceiling. The building was going to collapse.

She vaguely heard Piper screaming. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Jason wrapping his arm around her.

"No!" Piper screamed. "We can't leave her!"

"The building is going to collapse!" Jason screamed, a dazed Leo at his side.

"Freckles..." he muttered

"Get them out of here," Rosie said in a voice she wasn't sure was hers.

Jason didn't acknowledge her, simply grabbed Piper and Leo, flying out of one of the destroyed windows, hopefully getting a lot of distance from the building.

Lamia was backed up against the wall, hissing but with the undeniable look of fear on her face. "Stop it!" She shrieked. "I can't go back to Tartarus!"

She thought of that stupid song her mom used to sing to her as a kid: _Ring around the Rosie, a pocket full of poises, ashes, ashes, we all fall down._

A big crack formed under Rosie's feet, so deep she could see right through to the first floor. She fell to her knees, feeling her strength leave her body. Black spots appeared in her vision.

"You're wrong," Rosie said to Lamia, shaking her head. "I'm nothing like you."

It hurt so badly. She couldn't keep this going for much longer. She lingered on the pain.

She was going to die.

She thought of her friends.

She hoped they wouldn't hate her.

She hoped they wouldn't miss her.

She hoped they would complete their quest.

She hoped they would forgive her.

Rosie's ears rang as the floor began to collapse, slowly peeling away.

She felt herself falling.

That's when everything went black.


	19. The Greatest Hunk of Metal to Ever Live

She knew she wasn't dead.

She was in way too much pain for that-her entire body throbbed and ached. The sound of blood pounded in her ears. She had an intense migraine, one that made her wince. No, this wasn't death.

She slowly opened her eyes, seeing the evening sky above her. Looking down, she saw that she was soaked.

Festus was curled around her, his eyes peacefully closed in sleep.

She couldn't believe it- the world _had _to be ending. It became clear to her that Festus, the fire-breathing hunk of metal who _hated _her water-spewing guts, had saved her. Not only that, he had taken her to some body of water, hoping the water would help her. He hated her, and yet saved her.

Maybe Festus wasn't so bad.

She affectionately touched Festus's head.

"Thanks for getting me out of there, buddy," she whispered softly.

Festus snuggled closer to her, letting out a soft puff of steam.

"Guys, I found them!" She distantly heard Leo's voice.

She quickly shut her eyes.

She didn't want to see her friends' faces.

She promised herself she'd never do that again.

"Oh, thank the gods!" She heard Piper sob, and heard a thud as Piper planted herself down next to Rosie. "Is she going to be okay?"

"She's breathing," Jason said, placing a hand around her wrist and taking her pulse. "Leo, ambrosia. Now."

She heard the sound of Leo rummaging through his belt, then him quickly saying, "Got it."

Jason fed her a small piece of ambrosia. It tasted like pancakes she used to get at the diner with her mom and Max. It made her want to cry, but it helped to dull the ache of her body a bit more.

She felt Jason wrap his arms underneath her, picking her up. She kept her eyes closed- she figured Jason knew she wasn't actually unconscious, but was covering for her.

"Oh thank the gods," Piper repeated in a hushed tone. "Is Festus alright, Leo?"

She heard Leo sigh, banging on Festus. "He's a little banged up, that's for sure, but he should make it to the Bay Area. He has to." Leo paused, adding, "Good job getting her out of there, buddy."

"Then we should leave," Jason said, placing Rosie onto Festus.

She wanted to say something. She wanted to open her mouth and tell them to leave her behind.

Instead, she slept.

_There was a mirror in front of her. She stared back at herself in the mirror: dark brown hair hanging in waves past her shoulders, pale ocean blue eyes, the spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks. There was a baseball cap lowered slightly over her eyes. She recognized the t-shirt she was wearing; she had stolen it from some stupid touristy shop on the outskirts of Maine. It said I LOVE MOOSES, with a cartoon moose on it. _

_She was wearing it that night...the night she was attacked._

_I know you think you're a monster, Rosie. _

_That voice was the last thing on earth she wanted to hear. She knew who it was- the sleeping woman, whoever she was. _

_But you're not a monster, Rosie. You're an asset._

_She didn't want to hear this voice. She had enough. _

_I would never betray you. I would never hurt you like your father did._

_Rosie felt like crying. Her father...the pain hit her all over again. Her father had killed Max. Her six year old baby brother._

_Get your revenge, Rosie. _

_The mirror shattered, spraying her with glass._

She woke up with a jolt, on Festus' back. She shivered at the gust of wind. Leo was asleep in front of her, and she could hear Piper's light breathing behind her. She was alone.

"Leo said your snoring relaxed him-said it reminded him of a machine humming."

Not, not alone- Jason was awake.

"I don't snore," she said flatly, not bothering to turn around, staring rigidly ahead.

"Piper backed him up."

"Right. Got it."

A moment of silence passed. "Rosie," Jason began. "What happened at the slaughterhouse-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Her power was like Max- she didn't keep it out in plain view. Those things, she kept tucked away.

Jason took a deep breath. "Rosie, it's not-"

"Seriously, Jason, please leave me alone, okay?" She asked, her voice breaking on the last word.

She felt a flash of guilt as Jason muttered an apology. That flash of guilt was soon replaced by an irrational wave of anger at him- it was his father who had done this, who had set the course of her life into motion. She knew it wasn't right to be upset with him, but she was.

They sat in an awkward silence. She thought about her power, the one she had hid for almost three full years.

After it had happened, she did everything she could to keep it under wraps. She couldn't tell anyone about them- how could she? She could practically hear the choirs of _freak_ if she did tell someone.

She learned to keep her emotions in check. Rosie found out that if she kept things light, she wouldn't have the chance to lose control. Jokes helped. If she joked constantly, she kept it under control.

All she had to do was keep the anger and fear out, something she had failed at doing today. Everything had gotten to her- learning about her father only pushed her over the edge.

Festus shuddered with the weight of the canary cages. Rosie felt sick as he began to shake, coughing out oil. Something was wrong with Festus.

"Festus…?" Jason asked, a worried tone in his voice.

Festus' ruby eyes went dim.

"No…." Rosie whispered.

She nearly fell off as Festus began to free fall, tumbling violently through the sky. She and Jason began screaming, clutching on for dear life. Jason shook Piper awake, who began screaming.

Leo woke up with a start. "What the-" His eyes went wide. "No! Festus, not again!" Could they ever catch a break?

Leo opened a panel on Festus' neck, tugging at some wires. He jolted back as some sparks flew out of the control panel. Leo cursed loudly, looking for something in his tool belt.

"Jason, fly out of here with Rosie and Piper!" he yelled.

"What?" Jason exclaimed back.

"Go! I can fix him, we just need to lighten the load!"

"We're not leaving you!" Piper argued. Rosie wanted to agree.

"I'll be fine!" he snapped. "Just follow us! Go!"

Rosie felt Jason wrap an arm around her. Suddenly, she was yanked into the sky with a powerful gust of wind. She and Piper held onto Jason, as he forced the wind to support them. They watched helplessly as Leo and Festus tumbled through the sky, Leo working like a madman. She could hear Festus' groans of protest, as his wings fluttered weakly, trying to keep up.

They were tumbling way too fast-she knew they were going to crash. Leo directed Festus as best he could- they were headed towards a beautiful, fancy mansion that was surrounded by a perimeter fence. For a second, Leo looked triumphantly, a huge grin on his face. He froze as a spotlight fixed on him. A loud burst of noise made the three of them jump, as she saw red flashes of light. Suddenly, Festus' body broke apart, his pieces raining down from the sky. Leo went plummeting, falling to the ground.

Rosie realized she was screaming.

"Jason, get down there!" Piper commanded.

Jason obeyed, although Rosie could tell he was hesitant to follow Festus' footsteps. However, they were able to land safely. Rosie fell on all fours, landing in front of what appeared to be a talon from Festus' claw.

"No…no no no no…" she started muttering.

Jason and Piper ran over to Leo. Rosie didn't know if he was okay, but she knew he would want her to check on his stupid dragon first.

Festus was completely scattered into a million pieces across the lawn. The canary cages were fine. The only intact part of Festus was his head, lying on a rosebush, his eyes flickering weakly.

"Festus…" she crawled over to his head, placing a hand on it.

This was her fault. It had to be. Festus got hurt saving her, so hurt he couldn't handle the weight of all of them to the Bay Area.

"I'm so sorry…" she realized she was crying, as she rubbed Festus comfortingly. "I'm so sorry, buddy. You...you did good. Thank you for getting us this far."

The dragon emitted a clicking noise. Rosie listened to his creaks and clicks, realizing he was speaking to her in Morse code.

_It's okay._

_It's okay._

_It's okay._

She hiccuped out another sob.

"Rosie?" Piper called to her from where she was sitting next to Leo.

Rosie wiped her cheeks and went over to her three best friends. Leo was partially awake, but definitely injured. He had a big, purple-blue bruise on his head.

"Is he okay?" Rosie asked, tears still running down her cheeks.

Piper saw her and immediately, tears started running down her cheeks too. "He'll be fine. But Festus…" she trailed off, looking at the ground.

Jason gulped. "He was a good dragon."

Rosie nodded. "He really was." She knew Leo was going to be crushed: this was his masterpiece, his master creation. She had never seen her best friend so happy.

Speaking of, Leo suddenly spit out a clump of grass, groaning. "Guys...what-"

"Don't move," Piper told him. "You, uh, landed pretty hard when…"

Leo's eyes went wide. "Where's Festus?" He sat up, despite Jason trying to hold him back. He looked around wildly.

"Leo, please sit," Jason pleaded. "You're hurt-"

Leo pushed him away and stood up, focusing on the carnage around him. Rosie's heart fell as she saw her friend's face crumple.

"No…" he whispered.

He ran over to Festus' head, and the three of them followed.

"No!" Leo exclaimed, kneeling next to his head. "No, no, no, boy, please…don't die, buddy. You're the greatest thing I've ever fixed."

Rosie let out a loud sob as he said this.

Leo looked at them, looking lost and helpless. "This isn't fair," he moaned, pounding his fists helplessly on the ground.

Rosie's watched as Festus started creaking and clicking again, trying to communicate to Leo. She understood what he was saying: _Reuse me. Reuse me, Leo._

Leo nodded weakly. "I will, boy. I promise you I will."

Festus went dim.

Leo began to cry, his face in his hands. Rosie racked her mind, trying to think if she ever saw Leo cry, but she couldn't remember. She just knelt behind him, crying along with him.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Leo…" she cried. "You gave him a chance. You fixed him- you did amazing…"

Piper nodded, blinking back tears. "She's right," Piper said. "Festus was lucky to have you."

"I'm sorry, man," Jason said genuinely. "I'm so sorry. What...what did you promise Festus?"

He gulped. "To reuse him," Leo said. "My dad said the same thing. Everything can be reused."

"Your dad?" Jason asked, shocked. "You talked to him?"

Were the gods always shoving their noses where they didn't belong?

Leo said nothing, simply picked up Festus' head carefully. He looked up to the sky, his cheeks shiny with tears, and said, "Please take him back to camp, dad- to the bunker. I promise to reuse him. Please do this for me."

A strong gust of wind blew, picking up Festus' head and carrying him into the sky.

Piper looked at Leo, shocked. "Your dad answered you?"

"Dream," he answered weakly. "Tell you guys later."

No one pushed him on this- he was obviously upset. He looked broken- a machine beyond repair. She wanted to comfort him, but didn't know how to.

He took a deep breath, plastering a fake smile on his face. "So-" he started. "Where are we?"

"Omaha, Nebraska," Jason said. "Saw a billboard before. But...guys, this mansion...when we were behind you, Leo, it looked like…"

Leo nodded grimly. "Lasers."

Jason shook his head in shock. "Defensive much…how come it didn't kill us?"

"Festus," Leo said miserably. "He took the lasers for us. I lead him to his death."

"He saved our lives again…" Rosie muttered sadly. She couldn't believe it: Festus saved her from the building collapse, and had sacrificed himself for them.

"What do we do now?" Piper asked.

Leo shrugged. "Looks like we're stuck here. Let's go in."

Jason led the way, but was quickly stopped before reaching the sidewalk. Leo grabbed wire cutters from the belt, cutting into the sidewalk.

"Trap door," he muttered.

"Right," Jason said, embarrassed. "Thanks."

He ended up deactivating five traps in total, each one more and more hidden, making Rosie wonder how he found them.

Jason complimented him on this as they reached the front door. "That was awesome, dude."

Leo shrugged. "Yeah," he said sarcastically, observing the front door lock. "Super."

"Leo-" Jason began.

Leo pushed the door open without struggle. "Door's unlocked," he said flatly.

Piper did a double take. "Seriously? All those traps, and they keep the door unlocked?"

"Welcome," Rosie muttered, following Leo inside.

Behind her, she heard Piper whisper to Jason, "They're both upset. We just need to give them time."

The entry hall was huge, leading them to an even bigger room. The room was dimly lit, with huge windows allowing a little light to peek through. Along the walls were statues, life-sized metal figures. Sofas were arranged in a neat U pattern, along with a coffee table and smaller loveseat. A row of closed doors lined the back wall.

"Does anyone see a light switch?" Jason asked.

"Nope," Leo said.

"Fire?" Rosie asked Leo.

Leo tried to lit a fire, but nothing happened. "Not working."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well, Freckles, if I knew that-"

"Okay," she shot back. "I got it."

"Anyways," Piper changed the subject. "What do we do? Look around?"

"With those traps out there?" Leo laughed humorlessly. "Not a chance, beauty queen."

Jason nodded. "He's right. No splitting up-not like in Maine."

Piper turned a shade of green. "Please don't bring up the cyclops."

Jason. "My bad," he winced. "Maybe we should make camp here? We can bring the cages in, and get some rest...we can decide what to do in the morning."

Nobody seemed to want to argue this, so that's what they decided to do. Jason and Leo rolled the cages in, as Rosie settled in against one of the corners of the wall, out of earshot from the others. She laid down on the ground, staring up at the ceiling.

At some point, Piper laid down opposite her, their heads inches apart.

"You're not going to get anything out of me, McLean," she said, continuing to stare at the ceiling.

"Do you remember that time I spilled ink on our carpet?" Piper asked.

The question caught Rosie so off guard, she burst out: "What?" She did remember it, she just had no idea why Piper was bringing it up.

"I was mad at you that day, you know. It was back when I was trying to get Jason to notice me ...I know, fake memory, stick with me for a second. I was jealous he seemed so comfortable and at ease with you."

"He was nervous around you because he liked you."

"Hard to be rational when it's a fake memory." Rosie snorted. "Anyways, I was just so mad...I went straight back to our room, just to dump that ink on your carpet. I was mad, but I...I instantly felt bad about it. I didn't think you would want to be my friend after that. I thought you would instantly know what I did."

Rosie said nothing, just let Piper's words hit her.

"And you came in, and you didn't even care. You laughed and joked that maybe I was actually the klutz of room 207. You even tried to help me clean it up."

"It never came out." Rosie had a faint smile on her face.

Piper smiled back. "The infamous stain of room 207. I...I've been thinking about that memory a lot. Once...once I found out Hera messed with our heads...I questioned everything. I wondered what was real or not. I thought...I thought maybe that you weren't actually my friend."

"Piper…." Rosie whispered, anguished.

"I know. I know, it's dumb...but since Jason wasn't even mine anymore, I didn't possibly think you of all people could be my friend. I thought you actually were like how I thought you would react to that ink spill…but I know you're not. You're Rosie, my best friend who laughs when I spill something."

She paused and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I've been so weird to you. I was scared. It wasn't right to take that out on you. You were right about everything. I didn't like that you were telling me the truth, especially about Jason."

"I'm scared too."

Piper grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry. I should've been more open with you."

Rosie let out a humorless laugh. "I should've been more open with _you. _You deserve to know my story, you're my best friend. I'm sorry for not telling you about my brother and...I'm so sorry about Des Moines…"

Piper shook her head. "What are you sorry about? You saved us."

"No, Piper. Don't do that; it's not something I'm proud of." She shook her head, tears running silently down her cheeks. "I can't...I'm not proud of it,"

Piper looked at her. "Rosie..."

She sniffled, pressing her lips together tightly. "I was thirteen. There was a restaurant and...I was attacked..."

Piper waited patiently.

"I just lost it," she whispered. "The whole building collapsed..." she took a big gulp, choking out a sob. "All those people..."

Piper grabbed her hand. "Stop. You didn't know back then. It was an accident."

Rosie buried her face into her other hand. She made another one of those awful crying choking sounds. "I lost it, Pipes."

"You saved us," Piper corrected. "We'd be dead if it wasn't for you."

"I _hate _it," she sobbed. "I hate my powers. I hate him."

"Him?" Piper asked gently.

"My father."

"You spoke to him?"

She shook her head. "No. At the slaughterhouse...Lamia...she showed me something…" She explained to Piper about Max, and how Lamia showed her the conversation between Poseidon and Zeus, where they planned to kill her brother.

Piper squeezed her hand. "Rosie...you don't know if that's true. She was a liar."

"When Max drowned, I remember the water _fighting_ me. This entire time I blamed myself for it...but...there's a chance it was him this whole time."

Piper squeezed her hand again. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

"I love you."

"Right back at you, McLean," she said weakly.

They stayed like that, side by side, for a while. Rosie eventually heard the light breathing from Piper as she slept. She slipped away from her friend, moving to the other side of the room. Jason was sleeping on one of the couches, as Leo tinkered away with Coach's cage. He nodded as he saw her approach.

"Freckles."

"Hey," She said, sitting on the floor next to the cage.

"I wouldn't sit there. You're directly in the Coach hitting zone."

"I'll take my chances."

He smiled softly. "Risky. Uh...how are you?"

"Thinking about upgrading that freak membership."

"Is this about the earthquake? 'Cuz that was pretty awesome."

She shrugged. "It's not so awesome when you can't control it."

His shoulders slumped. "Oh. Yeah. I get that. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." She hesitated, then added, "I'm really sorry about Festus. He was a hero...I was really starting to warm up to him."

Leo shot her a grateful smile. "He knew we needed you...no man left behind and all that, I guess. He'll be...he'll be okay. He's got greater things coming for him."

She didn't know what he meant, but she didn't push him on it.

"You and beauty queen makeup?"

She smiled. "Yeah, we're good."

"Good...that's good. I made nice with Jason-not his fault we all were psycho in that Medea chick's store."

"You're right. I'm glad you guys made up."

They sat in silence for a second. Rosie watched him tinker, as the thought popped in her head.

"I don't want to be scared anymore," she muttered.

"What was that, Freckles?"

"My powers...I don't want to fear them anymore- that's how they get the best of me. I...I want…" she trailed off. "I want to learn how to control them. I'm going to. The minute I get back to camp- I'm going to learn how to use them." She was stuck with them, might as well try to tame them. That would show her father. She made herself a promise: learn. Do better.

Leo paused for a second, thinking. He scratched his head thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to respond, but was caught off by someone screaming, "ARGGHHHH, DIE!"

Leo grimaced, as the two of them watched Coach Hedge unfreeze, swinging his bat wildly around.

Leo looked at her. "Coach's awake."

She nodded. "Coach is awake."


	20. Did that Lityerses Just Happen?

Coach began swinging wildly, screaming, "Die!" repeatedly as he exited the cage. Rosie and Leo quickly ducked out of the way.

Jason shot up from the coach, a wild look in his eyes as he took in the sight of Coach. Rosie shot him a tight smile.

"Coach's awake," she gritted through her smile.

"Coach's awake," he repeated, agreeing with wide eyes.

She quickly ducked, Coach's baseball bat missing her head by mere inches. Jason stepped in front of her, waving his arms in front of Coach Hedge.

"Coach! Relax! It's just us!"

Coach jumped back defensively, his branch at arm's length. He shot Jason a suspicious look. "You're that new kid," he said accusingly, wiggling the branch at him. "Jason. Valdez, Reiger, what's going on? We were at the canyon fighting-" Coach broke off, suddenly aware of the storm spirits in the other cage.

He raised his branch, wailing, "Oh no you don't! DIE!"

Leo and Rosie jumped in front of him quickly.

"Coach, come on! Disengage!" Rosie yelled, jumping.

"Relax, old goat!" Leo exclaimed.

Coach shot them a look, lowering his branch. "I may be an 'old goat', but I can still make you two cupcakes do push-ups, you know."

With a yelp, Rosie and Leo both threw themselves to the ground, starting to do push-ups.

Jason sighed, placing his head in his hand. "Guys, stop doing push-ups. Get up."

"But my form has gotten better!" Rosie complained, demonstrating.

"Oh, please, Freckles, I've got you beat," Leo panted between push-ups.

"Nuh-uh!" She said, increasing her speed. She and Leo always used to have push-up contests- anything to make gym class go faster.

"Guys!" Jason exclaimed. "Hello?"

They ignored Jason, continuing their contest.

Coach blew his whistle. "Reiger, Valdez!" He barked. "Stand down!"

They both snapped to attention.

Jason looked at Coach in amazement. "I gotta get me one of those."

Coach beamed proudly. "We call that the Wilderness method."

Rosie looked over at Leo. "I think we were brainwashed."

"Most definitely."

Piper emerged from behind the couch- how she slept through that entire thing, Rosie didn't know. "Did I hear-" she broke off with a gasp. "Coach! You're awake!"

He nodded. "McLean. Now, what in bazooka's name happened?"

Rosie scrunched her face in confusion. "Bazooka-"

"Gleeson- can I call you Glee?" Leo asked.

Coach grunted. "That's Coach to you, Valdez."

"Right. Got it, Coach. Ha. Anyways, you saved us at the grand canyon! You were all hero-y and stuff! Before you, you know- got sucked away by those storm spirits."

Coach puffed out his chest. "Of course I was."

"And then, um ...the storm spirits took you to...Medea. In Chicago."

"That witch- _wait_. You pulling my leg, Valdez? That witch is dead."

"She is." Leo shrugged. "Somehow she wasn't dead then."

"Well, I guess I should thank you all for saving me on this dangerous quest! You're not completely useless."

"Gleeson-er, Glee...Mr. Hedge- Nope, sorry, I'm sticking with Coach. I can't do it," Rosie said, shaking her head. She still couldn't even wrap her head around Coach being a goat. "Um-this wasn't a quest to find you-not that it's not a great perk finding you! Just, um- we kind of ran into you on accident."

"I see, Reiger." Coach's face fell for a second, before brightening up again. "No matter! Meant to happen and all that. Is this the witch's lair? I gotta say, weird decor."

Rosie looked around, and realized with a shock that the room was covered with gold: statues, the chairs, even the curtains. How hadn't they noticed that before?

"Well, that answers the lasers," Leo grumbled, kicking the floor.

"Coach, we aren't at Medea's place anymore," Piper explained. "We've crash landed at someone's mansion. We're in Omaha, Nebraska."

Coach shrugged. "Well, I'm on board! I'll gladly help you cupcakes on our quest. Now, do you remember your training?"

Rosie exchanged a look with the others. _Training? _"Um, Coach, we don't have-"

She was interrupted by the doors at the far side of the room opening. An older, Santa Claus-looking man walked into the room, choking on his toothbrush when he noticed the five of them. He was dressed for sleep in a white nightgown and matching cap.

"Oh, dear," he mumbled, peering at them. "Lit? Do not be alarmed, but there appears to be guests in our throne room."

Rosie soon learned what seemed to be Coach's only response to anything: lifting his club and screaming, "DIE!"

He charged toward the man, as the four of them held him back.

"Hedge, drop the club!" Piper pleaded, yanking at his elbow.

"Drop and give me fifty!" Leo yelped, obviously trying the Coach Hedge method.

"This is so not what the cupcakes would want!" Rosie yelled, holding onto his leg as he kicked wildly.

He finally relented, for Jason looked him in the eyes, telling him, "Come on, Coach. Pull it back a little."

The door slammed open, a young man running in, sword swinging. He was still in PJs, with messy bed hair. He was kinda cute, in a completely scarred up kind of way.

"Ah, yes, that is my son, Lityerses," the old man explained.

This must be Lit. He glanced at Jason, instantly glaring. He started to charge forward.

"Whoa, whoa!" Piper quickly stepped between them. "Hi- Lit, is it? I'm Piper. This is a huge mistake. Everyone just calm down."

"Come at me!" Hedge yelled, swinging his branch.

"Coach," Jason chided. "We are trespassing in their house."

"The boy has a point!" The old man chimed in with a jolly smile. "Now, may I ask who you are?"

"Everyone just put the weapons down first," Piper said soothingly. "Coach, you start."

"I'm good, McLean."

"Coach," Piper pleaded, sounding slightly exasperated. "Please put down the club."

Coach sighed, dropping his club.

Lit rolled his eyes, sheathing his sword. "I don't usually say no to demigod shish-kebab."

"You just rhymed," Rosie told him. "You're a poet and you _lityerses_ didn't know it."

Leo burst out laughing, clutching his side. "That was a good one," he told Rosie.

"I know, right?"

Lit frowned. "I do not get it."

Rosie sighed. "Well, it's not going to be funny if I have to _explain_-"

"Anyways," Piper quickly cut in, shooting the two of them an annoyed look. "Sir, may we sit down? Maybe talk?"

The old man shrugged. "May as well, you're already here."

The four of them sat down on the couch together, Rosie sitting between Jason and Leo.

Lit frowned. "Father-"

"It's alright. Perhaps we can be ...what's the name for it again, ah yes-friends! Welcome, friends. I am King Midas."

Coach huffed and slumped down on one of the couches. "I don't buy it. Midas is dead."

King Midas settled into his throne, Lit hovering behind him. Every so often, Lit would flex his muscles ridiculously. Between that and the King's bathrobe every so often threatening to expose his junk, Rosie had to press her lips together to avoid giggling. Piper leaned slightly forward on the other side of Jason to shoot her a look, despite smiling as well.

"Excuse Coach," Jason said apologetically, kicking Rosie's shin subtly as she let out a brief giggle. "We just...have run into a lot of non-dead people who should be dead on this quest."

King Midas scratched his face thoughtfully. "Huh. Weird. You'd think I'd remember dying. Lit, we would remember, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Ah, well. Being alive is much better."

"Er, sir…" Piper trailed off. "Respectfully, how did you come back? You wouldn't happen to have-um, a patron?"

Midas shrugged. "Who knows, my dear," he said, successfully evading the question.

"Where's my branch?" Coach asked, grumbling.

"Coach," Jason cut in. "Would you mind waiting outside?"

"And what, have him fall into a trap door?" Leo brought up.

Rosie thought of Coach screaming "die!" while plummeting through a trapdoor, and she almost lost it. She shut her eyes, giving herself a second to pull it together.

"It's fine," the king said. "I disabled it, beforehand. It's perfectly safe."

Coach Hedge sighed. "Fine. I'll go. But if you kids need me…" he made a not-so-subtle motion of pounding fist.

Jason had an embarrassed look on his face. "Right! Thank you, Coach."

Piper smiled, trying to break up the awkward tension. "So. New to the area?"

The king nodded. "Yes, indeed. Lit, why did we pick Omaha again?"

"The oracle, Your Majesty," Lit reminded him.

"Ah, yes. We thought there would be an Oracle here." The king shrugged. "Shame. But, we do love this house. My son-Lit- has plenty of room for swordplay. His nickname is the Reaper of Man- he literally slices men apart."

"_Lityerses,_" Leo and Rosie muttered in unison under their breaths, both shaking with silent laughter. Jason shot them a look.

"Um, Your Majesty," Jason said. "All this gold-"

The king beamed. "Nice, isn't it? Very proud of it. Can I interest you in a brochure?"

"So, you sell gold?" Jason asked, confused, glancing at the spread of brochures in the coffee table.

"Ha! No- I make it. It's a wise investment, boy. You know what that say: save today, gold everyday!"

Leo frowned. "Are you from that commercial…?"

The king waved him off. "Cheap imitations. I'm far superior to imitators; I can make gold whenever I want."

Piper furrowed her brow. "You gave up the golden touch, though? Didn't you?"

The king gave her a surprised look. "Really?"

"Um...yeah. You turned your daughter to gold by accident, making you realize how greedy you'd been. You repented."

"Dad of the year," Leo whispered to her.

If only he knew- her dad would easily win that title.

King Midas laughed, looking at his son. "Can you believe that, Lit? How convoluted stories get over the years. Dear, did these stories mention how I lost my touch?"

"Uh- something about running water."

"True-sometimes I still use running water to reverse my touch. We don't have running water for that reason; after all, we have a lake outside. Sometimes, I forget and touch Lit-"

"I don't like that," Lit muttered.

"No parent is perfect, my son. Anyways, what was I saying? Yes- I love gold. Why would I give up my magic touch?"

Piper looked lost. "Well...learned lesson?"

"Hand me your backpack, dear."

Piper hesitated, but relented, tossing King Midas her backpack. Once he caught it, the backpack turned into a backpack made of flexible, soft gold.

He tossed it back, smiling. "It's magic now. Try it with the storm spirits."

This piqued Leo's interest. He hopped off the couch, taking the bag from Piper and holding it up to the cage. The cage shuddered as he held the bag up to it, storm spirits falling into the bag like a vortex was sucking them in.

Leo grinned. "That is _lityerses_ so cool."

Rosie grinned back at him. "That's never going to get old."

Jason shook his head. "Going to get old?"

Lit frowned. "I still don't get it," he grumbled angrily.

"My golden touch isn't a curse," the king insisted. "And if we're being honest, I much prefer my daughter as a statue."

"She was annoying," Lit said.

"Indeed! So, she's over there." He pointed to the corner, where there was a golden statue of a teenage girl with a horrified expression.

"That's awful," Piper said, a disgusted look on her face.

"Eh." The king shrugged. "Besides, if I learned my lesson, would I have these?"

The king pulled off his sleeping cap, and Rosie's mouth nearly dropped open, realizing he had _donkey's ears._

Leo was stunned, blinking. "That's _lityerses_ terrifying."

"Leo!" Piper shrieked.

"Truly terrible, isn't it?" The king sighed warily. "I judged a music competition between Apollo and Pan- Apollo was _not happy _with my choice."

"_Hey, chingedy ching, hee haw, hee haw_

_It's Dominick, the donkey_," Rosie sang under her breath. Leo stifled some laughter.

"But yes, children," the king smiled, passing a chill through Rosie's body. Something about the king was off. "Gold is particularly useful. That must be why I'm back- right, Lit?" Lit nodded. "Probably to bankroll our patron."

Jason's body tightened with tension. "Right-so you have a patron. The giants, I'm assuming."

"I'm not a huge fan of the giants. But, supernatural armies must get paid. I owe my patron a lot. I tried to explain that to our last group of visitors- our 'friends'- but, they weren't as friendly as you all are."

Jason's hand slipped into his pocket. "Last group?"

"Hunters," Lit spat. "Annoying girls of Artemis."

"Very annoying," the king agreed.

Jason looked shell-shocked. His eyes met Rosie's, and he mouthed _Thalia_. His sister.

"When?" Jason asked. "What happened?"

Lit shrugged. "Few days ago. They were looking for an evil wolf, or something. They were heading west. Missing demigod- I don't really remember."

Percy Jackson.

Wolves.

Two things that popped up in her dream. She knew they were related.

Jason stood, the three of them following suit.

"Well," Piper smiled uneasily. "We should get going. Welcome back to life. Thank you for the gold bag, and goodbye!"

"Ooh, you must stay!" The king cried. "I have to rebuild my collection, after all."

She was _lityerses_ not on board with that.

"I'll give you a choice," the king said. "Either become apart of my collection or die at the hands of Lit. Simple choice."

"How long do we have? I _lityerses _can't make up my mind," she said. Leo laughed, despite the tension.

The king looked at Lit. "We'll start with these two."

Rosie's hands shot up as Leo looked panicked. "Whoa, wait, sorry, I was kidding-"

She didn't get to finish, for the king raised his hands towards her. She yelped as she was dissolved into a cloud of gold dust.

Rosie woke up underwater, the frigid water shocking her. She quickly kicked to the surface, gasping for air when she reached it.

"Hey, that was fast."

She whipped around, seeing Jason and Coach sitting on the edge of the riverbank. Next to them were Piper and Leo, both gold statues.

"What-what-" she felt completely disoriented, feeling weighed down by her soaked clothes. "What happened? The King-"

"Grace over here took the king DOWN," Coach yelled. "You should've seen him- he was all like- Slice! Boom! Thunder! Lightning! Then I came in with my good ol' club and we dominated! Like pow pow!"

"Um. That's...great?"

Jason shook his head. "It was a little different from that. Anyways, we decided to dunk you first, figuring you'd snap out of it the fastest, daughter of Poseidon and all."

"Right. Thanks." She nodded towards Piper and Leo. "What about those two?"

Jason shot her a smile. "You wanna help us?"

Her teeth chattered, and she was freezing. But help dunk her friends? Hell yeah.

She climbed onto the ground, standing up next to statue Leo. "I'm Leo," she mimicked in her best Leo voice. "Rosie has far superior pushups." With that, she used her hip to push the statue into the water.

Seconds later, Leo popped out of the water, soaking wet and gasping.

"Donkeys!" He gasped, heaving.

Rosie laughed at him.

He looked at the three of them, running a hand through his curls. "Man-I feel _violated_."

Rosie lent him a hand, pulling him out of the river. "I _lityerses_-"

"No!" Jason quickly exclaimed, lifting statue Piper. "We're not doing that anymore."

As soon as he turned his back, Leo and Rosie made faces at each other.

"Valdez, Reiger!" Coach barked as a warning.

She shot him a sheepish smile. "Our bad, Coach."

"Don't think that I've forgotten about the megaphone."

"We plead the fifth, Coach," she told him.

"Uh, guys?" Jason called. "Need a little help here."

Piper took a long time to ungoldify. Even after they completely dunked and held her underwater, she remained unconscious.

Meanwhile, the freezing water was getting to Rosie and Leo. They both shivered involuntarily.

Coach glanced at them. "You two, inside," he said, nodded to a cave down the river. "Blankets, now. Before you catch hypothermia. I'd rather you guys not die...I guess."

"Love you too, Coach," Leo called out as they sped into the cave, wrapping themselves in blankets.

"Pow," Leo muttered weakly, pointing his finger and starting a weak fire at their feet.

"Was the sound effect necessary?" She asked, moving closer to the fire.

"Admit it, it was much cooler with it."

"Okay, yeah. It was."

Jason and Hedge came in, carrying a shivering Piper.

"Is she okay?" Leo asked.

"She'll be fine," Hedge said, unfazed. "It's just hypothermia."

They sat her down, placing blankets on top of her and making her sip nectar.

Jason sat down on the other side of the fire, glancing at Rosie and Leo.

"We'll need to talk. Once Piper is awake. I have a feeling that the wolves that the Hunters are looking for are connected-"

"Ooh, Ooh, Professor Grace, pick me, I know the answer!" She cried, raising her hand.

Jason sighed. "You know, this is serious, you guys-"

"I have a question," Leo said, peeking a hand out from his blanket.

"Knock it off."

"No, really!" Leo insisted.

"Fine. What is it?"

"Will there be an extra credit question on the next test?"

"I hate you guys."

**A/N: 20 chapters in already! wow! hope you guys are enjoying it!**


	21. Who Let the Wolves Out?

Piper woke up with a jump, screaming, "Oh my god! I hate gold!"

"You're okay," Jason comforted her. "You're safe now."

"Good, you're awake!" Rosie plopped herself down next to Piper, who wearily sat up. "So, Jason banned the use of _lityerses_, but he said he was open to a vote, so it's currently two versus two. No pressure, but you're the tiebreaker."

"J-J-judge rules," she managed to get out, shivering. "No _lityerses_."

She frowned. "Are you sure-"

"You have hypothermia," Jason explained to her, looking a little too thrilled at Piper's decision. "Coach Hedge did a little...um-"

"Voodoo magic," Rosie finished for him, nodding her head seriously.

"It wasn't voodoo magic," Jason sighed.

Leo scratched his head. "No, I'm pretty sure it was."

"Guys-"

"Sports medicine," Coach finally cut in. "Don't get too excited, it's just a hobby of mine. Your breath _might_ smell like mushrooms and Gatorade for a while-"

"Don't you mean _Goatarade_?" Leo interrupted with a grin.

Rosie laughed as Piper shook her head. "That was terrible, Leo. That joke honestly hurt me. Anyways...how did you beat Midas?"

Jason retold the story, how he fought Lit, tricking the King into turning Lit into gold, and summoning electricity to defeat the king.

Coach grinned. "We make a pretty good team, kid."

"Coach was eating the lawn outside at the time," Jason reminded the group.

Leo formed another ball of fire, piling it into the fire.

"So, do I look completely disgusting?" Piper asked Rosie, playing with a strand of her hair.

Rosie grimaced. "Well, I mean, you've looked better…" she joked.

Piper winced. "Got it."

"You have a great personality," she offered helpfully.

Piper kicked her, laughing. "Stop it! Where are we?"

"Pikes Peak, Colorado," Jason answered.

"How did you pull that off?"

Jason seemed to redden at the memory. "Storm spirits- they did _not _like it. We almost crashed into the mountain before I could grab them again. It was an embarrassing moment that frankly, I'm glad Rosie and Leo didn't see."

Rosie pouted at Leo. "We could've had another cyclops headbutt moment."

"Guys, can we get a moment of silence?" Leo asked solemnly, bowing his head.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Anyways- that glittery wind trail lead us here. I-I'm not sure if we're supposed to be here. It just felt right."

"Of course it is, Grace!" Coach bellowed. "Aeolus is probably floating right above us. He loves this spot."

Piper sat up straighter. "Lit said the Hunters were heading west...do you think they're around here?"

Jason sighed. "I honestly don't know. The storm outside is pretty bad right now. It's already the evening before the solstice, but…"

He didn't finish the thought, but they all knew what he was thinking: they were running out of time.

Piper shivered, and Jason moved closer to her.

Jason blushed. "Um, we should warm you up. Could I...?"

"Oh. Yeah. If you want to." Piper tried to sound nonchalant, but Rosie smirked as her best friend shot her a thrilled glance. She was rooting for those two crazy kids.

Jason and Piper snuggled closer together, and Rosie glanced over at Leo, who was looking slightly cold and grumpy.

"Don't even think about it, Valdez," she warned.

Leo's nose burst into flames for a second. "I wasn't going to!"

"You _so _wanted to cuddle," she argued.

Jason and Piper exchanged amused looks.

"Freckles, I will set you on fire."

"And I will extinguish it. Boom, water beats fire."

"Whatever." She saw a smirk on his face. "Anyways, this seems like a good time for storytime…"

"Can we tell the Jason headbutting the cyclops one, again?" Rosie asked, smiling gleefully.

Piper giggled and looked at Jason, who was shaking his head with a smile.

For a second, Rosie felt like she was camping with her best friends: all of them, cozy around the fire and telling stories. Well, and Coach. That part was a little weird.

Leo laughed. "Maybe later, we ought to tell Coach. Anyways, on the way to Omaha...I had a dream. And...my dad talked to me. Said Zeus has been acting all weirdly, making all these rash decisions. He made it sound like Zeus was upset with the demigods, thinking we don't respect the gods or whatever. But, my dad did say the gods would need us to defeat the giants…"

She was so sick of the gods. Hypocrites; they were all hypocrites.

"But…" Piper trailed off worriedly. "That doesn't make sense. Why would they ignore us if they need us?"

Coach Hedge chortled. "The gods _hate _needing you demigods. They love being needed by you all, but the other way? Not so much."

"Huh, Coach," Piper said thoughtfully. "That was actually a pretty intelligent comment."

"Bah, I'm intelligent!" He garbled. "Things will have to get a lot worse before Zeus admits he made a mistake closing Olympus."

"Yeah, well, Zeus makes a lot of mistakes," Rosie muttered angrily.

"What?" Jason asked.

She shot a panicked look at Piper. "I mean-sorry, nothing. Gods- acting crazy: any thoughts?"

"When I dreamed about Hera," Jason said. "She mentioned Zeus being more paranoid than usual. Hera also said she went to those ruins because of a voice in her head. Guys...what if someone is influencing the gods?"

An uncomfortable silence rose between them once Jason said that. Leo awkwardly began setting up a skillet for hamburgers, sighing as he did.

"Yeah, I kind of felt the same way with what my dad was telling me," Leo admitted. "He made it sound like Hera was trying to get all of the greatest demigods together, but couldn't for some reason. It sounded like some information he wasn't supposed to be telling me."

"Chiron was like that at camp. Remember, Jason?" Rosie said, remembering how Chiron had refused to help Annabeth.

Jason nodded. "Yeah. There was some sacred oath they were not allowed to discuss. Coach, you wouldn't happen to know?"

"Nah. They don't tell us satyrs gossip. Especially an old-" he broke off.

"Old one like you?" Rosie asked. "Come on, Coach, I didn't think you were _that _old."

"I'm a hundred and six."

Rosie jerked back in surprise, wondering if she heard him right. "Uh…"

Leo coughed. "Um...that's...you don't look a day over-"

"Enough, Valdez, don't set yourself on fire. It's fifty-three in human years. But yeah, you make _some _enemies on the Council of Cloven Elders and suddenly you're too _'violent_' and '_a danger to society_'...can you believe that?"

Piper looked down, stifling a smile. "Unbelievable."

"I know! So, during that big ol' war with the Titans, they send me to Canada of all places! I should've been put on the front line, doing my thing! But nooooo-then after the war, they sent me to that old dump. The Wilderness School. Valdez, are those burgers vegetarian?"

"I got some tofu patties for you and Pipes, I'll throw them on in a second. My sous-chef here is really dropping the ball."

Rosie kicked him gracefully, helping him by arranging hamburger buns. She placed the hamburger meat on the buns for her, Jason, and Leo.

The five of them ate their burgers mostly in silence. No one seemed to be in the mood to talk. She noticed Piper's face, in thought and becoming increasingly worried.

Piper sat up, slightly wavering away from Jason. "I need to tell you guys something."

They looked over at her expectantly.

She took a deep breath. "Three nights before we went to the Canyon, I had a dream." She looked over Rosie. "Do you remember that? When I woke up, you were still up making flashcards at your desk."

"Huh. I do," she said. Rosie thought about it and gasped. "Oh my god! I never got to use those flashcards."

"Seriously?" Leo asked. "You're upset about your flashcards?"

"They were color coded," she said sadly, shaking her head.

"Nerd," Jason said, giving Rosie a taste of her own medicine.

"Anyways," Piper cut in. "My dream had a giant in it, telling me my dad was taken hostage. He told me to cooperate, or...or they would kill him."

"Was this the Enchiladas guy?" Rosie asked.

"Enceladus," Jason corrected.

"Whatever."

"Enceladus? Not someone I'd want roasting my daddy goat," Coach said, shaking his head.

"Coach?" Jason said.

"Yes?"

"Please be quiet. What were you saying, Piper?"

"I couldn't get in contact with my dad," Piper said. "I reached out to his personal assistant, but she told me not worry."

Leo snapped his fingers, causing the fire to cackle. "That Jane lady? I think Medea mentioned her…"

Piper nodded tightly. "Enceladus told me to sabotage the quest. He said it would be the only way to free my dad. Once we started the quest, I...I got another message from him. He wanted me to kill you guys. He wants me...to lead you into a mountain. Somewhere in the Bay Area- I'm not sure of the exact area. I have to be there by noon on the solstice- so tomorrow. He said it was an exchange."

An exchange- that was coming up way too often.

Rosie felt terrible for her friend. She must have been feeling so torn between her friends and her family: no wonder she was so caught up in Jason; she needed the distraction.

Jason placed an arm around Piper. "I am so sorry, Piper…"

Leo nodded in agreement. "Geez, beauty queen, you should've told us. That's some heavy stuff."

"Stop it!" She yelled angrily. "Scream at me! I was supposed to kill you guys."

Rosie placed a hand on her friend's knee. "Piper. You're our friend. We trust you with our lives. Enchiladas isn't going to change our mind on that." She meant it.

"This sounds like a group hug moment," Leo grinned.

Piper frowned. "My dad's probably good as dead now."

Coach peered up from his tofu burger. "Nah, kid. Your dad is still needed for leverage- Enceladus doesn't have what he wants, yet. If anything, Hera is being kept somewhere besides this mountain and he wants you to make a choice. Rescue your dad, or rescue Hera. If you choose Hera- then, Enceladus will have it out with your dad. Even if you cooperate, McLean, you can't trust this giant. You're one of the Eight- you all are."

Rosie exchanged a look with Jason. They knew they were apart of the "Eight", but to hear Coach say it somehow solidified it. It made it real.

Piper shook her head. "So no choice, then. We have to save Hera. The world is depending on us. Enceladus will know." She bowed her head miserably. "My dad is going to die."

"No way, Pipes," Leo said. "We can fix this- we'll make a plan."

"It's a trap, anyways," Piper said, looking close to crying.

Rosie got up, sitting on the other side of Piper and wrapping her arms around her. "Piper- we're not going to let your dad die. I promise. Leo's right- we'll figure out a plan." She wasn't going to let her friend's father be used as a pawn.

Piper buried her face. "It's hopeless," she muttered.

"It's not, Piper. We can't let them win- Medea, Enceladus, Lamia-"

"You guys ran into Lamia?" Coach asked. He shivered. "Ugh- she gives me the heebie jeebies."

Rosie slightly grimaced. "Uh. Yeah."

Coach scratched his chin. "Wish we knew the location of that mountain. I guess Aeoulus could probably help us with that. Bay Area...not a good place for you cupcakes. The old home of the Titans, Mount Othrys, sits near Mount Tam- that's where Atlas holds up the sky."

Piper shook her head. "I don't think it was that one. I could see the Golden Gate Bridge from the mountain's summit- the one Enceladus showed me."

Jason shifted, his mouth forming into a frown.

"Are you sure, Coach?" He asked. "I don't think...the Bay Area…"

"Have you been there, bro?" Leo asked.

Jason shrugged. "Coach, what happened? To Mount Othrys, I mean."

"Kronos had built a new palace there last summer. He then tried to take Olympus, but you know how that ended. He left some Titans in charge of it, but..it just crumbled after he was defeated."

Jason shook his head. "No."

They all looked at Jason expectantly.

"Um...is there more to that 'No' or…" Rosie trailed off, shooting a confused look at Leo.

Jason wound his hands tightly together. I mean- I don't think-" his head snapped towards the entrance. "Wait. Do you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Leo asked.

"Jason, if this is some weakly thought-out prank…" Rosie said, shaking her head.

Piper went pale. "Guys, shut up. Listen."

"Aw, you got Pipes in on it, too?" Leo asked.

"Guys!" She snapped.

They both shut up. And then Rosie heard it: howls. That could only mean one thing- wolves.

"Wolves," Piper whispered. "They're getting closer."

Jason hopped up, pulling out his sword. Coach, Leo, and Rosie followed suit. Piper attempted to stand up, only to wobble dangerously.

"Sit, Piper," Jason ordered. "We'll protect you."

"I don't need to be protected," she argued, steadying herself.

A pair of red eyes glowing in the dark appeared at the edge of the cave.

"On second thought," Piper said, sitting down. "Protection would be nice."

The wolves started edging into the cave. They were much bigger than she expected them to be- huge. She faltered at the sight of their pointy fangs and bright red eyes.

The alpha wolf crawled forward, sneering at them with his fangs. Jason stepped forward, saying something in Latin.

Whatever he said seemed to have an effect on the wolves. All of them edged backed into the dark.

"Um. You wanna translate, bro?" Leo asked, trembling with a hammer in his hand.

Hedge shook his head. "It didn't work-Look."

The wolves were coming back into the cave, sans alpha wolf. They formed a semicircle, trapping them in the cave

Coach lifted up his trusty club. "Ok. I have a plan. It's a little complex, but here it goes: I'll kill them all. You guys run."

"Wow, Coach, great plan," Rosie mumbled.

"Thank you!"

There was a man approaching: she could see the wolf pack parting to make way for him.

"We're sticking together," Jason told them. "That means you too, Coach. No man left behind."

The man reached their firelight. His shaggy hair reached his shoulders, unbelievably greasy and ragged. The crown placed on his head seemed to be made out of some type of bone- hopefully not human ones. He was wearing robes made out of tattered animal fur, fur that smelled disgusting. His face was wolflike- the same red eyes and fangs that the wolves had.

The man opened his mouth to speak. "Ecce," he snarled. "Filli Romani."

Hedge twirled his club around menacingly. "Speak English, you wolf man!"

"Maybe you should tell the faun to keep his tongue in check, son of Rome," the wolf man snarled, looked at them all. "I have to say, I didn't believe the rumors- the children of Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Poseidon, and Jupiter? All together?"

"Who told you about us?" Jason asked.

The man laughed. "Oh, demigod, we've been searching all over the west for you. I will be rewarded well by the giant king once he rises. I am Lycaon. King of the Wolves." His eyes glistened dangerously. "And my pack is extremely hungry."

"Well," Rosie chimed in, gritting her teeth. "There are tofu burgers right there."

The wolves snarled at her.

"We don't have food for you," Jason said. "Leave."

A motion caught her eye- Leo slipping something from his tool belt. A glass bottle of clear liquid. She had no clue what it was.

"Funny you treat me this way," Lycaon snarled. "When your father is the reason I am the way I am. I used to be a powerful mortal king of Arcadia with my fine, strong fifty sons- until Zeus killed them all."

She felt herself step back. Lycaon lost all of his sons. Zeus had killed them all- just like how he had gotten rid of Max. She felt a weird flash of sympathy for him.

"I remember now," Piper said angrily. "You invited Zeus over to dinner. You weren't sure if it was actually Zeus, so you gave him a test. You fed him human flesh-"

"And he killed my sons," Lycaon wailed. The wolves wailed along with him.

"So Zeus turned you into a wolf," Piper continued. "They call werewolves lycanthropes after you."

"King of Wolves," Coach spat. "Smelly, gross, mutt-"

"I will eat you, faun!"

"That's it-"

"Stop!" Jason exclaimed. "What's stopping you from killing me, Lycaon?"

Lycaon gestured towards Piper. "She failed to kill you. Because of that, I've been ordered to deliver you alive to the Wolf House. My compatriot wants the honor of killing you herself."

"Who?"

"A great admirer of yours," the king smiled teasingly. "I can't complain- your blood spilled at the Wolf House will surely keep Lupa back."

Piper shakily got up, holding onto the cave wall for support. "You're going to leave now," she said. "Before we destroy you."

The king burst out laughing. "I appreciate the effort, Daughter of Aphrodite. I will remember that as I eat you. I only need the Son of Jupiter, after all."

"That's not going to happen." Jason's jaw tensed as he stepped forward. "You'll have to go through me first." He summoned his sword.

The king shook his head. "Your weapons will have no effect on me. None of them will hurt my wolves."

"Silver!" Piper cried. "They hate silver!"

"Fresh outta that, Pipes!" Rosie yelled as the wolves leaped forward.

"DIE!" Hedge screamed.

Leo was the first to quickly strike. He threw down the glass vial, liquid splattering around the wolves. Rosie choked on the smell of gasoline, as Leo shot at the wolves, a wall of flames erupting.

Wolves yelped, backing away from the flames. Lycaon glared from the wall of flames

"Fire guy," Rosie said approvingly, grinning and nodding her head.

Every time a wolf would approach, Leo would send them back with some flames.

"Leo started the fire!" Piper and Rosie sang triumphantly.

The effort was obviously draining him, especially since the gasoline was dying down.

"I can't summon anymore gas!"

The four of them blinked at Leo.

Leo reddened. "That came out wrong. Really wrong. You know what I mean! Anyone got anything else? Freckles?"

She shook her head. "Can't," She said apologetically. "I'm too far from a water source, and I'd rather not bury us all alive."

"Jason?"

Jason winced. "Nothing. Can't use my sword, and...I think the snowstorm is messing with the powers."

Piper's face lit up with an idea. "The Venti!" She cried. "Release the venti!"

"We need them for that wind guy!" Leo argued.

"You all reek of fear," Lycaon sneered. "A few more minutes before you all die. Pray to the gods- see if they grant you mercy, as Zeus granted me _none_."

_Join the party_, she thought.

The flames were dying. Rosie shot a panicked look at Jason. Jason sighed, looking like he was completely out of options. Leo pulled his hammer back out, holding it up with shaking hands. Rosie pulled out her dagger, holding it in front of her as her entire body trembled. Piper sniffled, pulling out her dagger as well. Coach looked thrilled, like he couldn't wait for their impending death.

A fierce sound cut through the wind, as one wolf howled and fell over, melting. Arrows began to pierce the necks of wolves, as more and more dropped to the ground, disappearing.

Lycaon staggered back as an arrow caught him in the shoulder. He quickly pulled it out, wincing as he saw the gash left behind by it.

"Curses!" Lycaon cried. He glowered at the remaining wolves, as they turned and ran away. Lycaon shot one final look at Jason. "We will meet again, boy. And when we do, you will die."

He disappeared, taking his wolf pack with it.

A few seconds later, a small white wolf peeked into the cave, two other wolves behind it.

Hedge raised his branch. "Oh no you don't!"

"Coach!" Piper cut in. "Wait."

The wolves looked up at them with golden eyes. A troop of hunters appeared behind them, clothed in winter cloaks and hoods, carrying bows with quivers full of silver arrows.

They were all girls- probably the Hunters of Artemis. Rosie could tell- she wondered if they were some weird traveling girl band.

One of the girls, her face hidden by a parka hood, knelt down, picking up the arrow Lycaon had ripped out of his body. She cursed.

"We almost had him," She grumbled. "Follow him. Phoebe, stay with me."

The other members of the group disappeared, surely heading after Lycaon.

The girl in the parka hood turned towards them, her face still partially hidden. "We've been following that bastard for weeks. Are you all alright? Did anyone get bit?"

Rosie froze, glancing over at Jason, who appeared to be equally shocked. This had to be her…

"Thalia," Piper burst out softly. "You're Thalia."

The girl shot Piper a confused look as she pulled down her parka hood. At first glance, she didn't look like Jason: her hair was spiky and back, and she appeared to be emitting a supernatural glow. But looking at those electric blue eyes, there was no doubt: she was Jason's sister.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Thalia asked, tilting her head at Piper.

Jason stepped forward, a look of pure shock and hope on his face.

"Thalia. I'm Jason, your brother."

**A/N: i appreciate all the comments and support for this story! i love hearing from you guys.**


	22. Hot Chocolate and Harrowing Discoveries

Thalia nearly knocked over Leo when Jason said these words to her. She ran forward and clutched Jason's face, letting out a sound of disbelief.

"My gods! She told me you were dead!" Her hands groped at Jason's face, examining every inch of it. She let out a shaky laugh. "Oh my gods, you still have the scar from when you tried to eat a stapler when you were two!"

Leo let out a huge laugh, as Rosie's mouth dropped.

"Seriously?" Leo said.

Jason looked at Rosie, slightly in disbelief himself.

"Oh my god." Rosie said, holding up her hands and letting out a laugh, tears welling in her eyes. "That is a million times better than anything I could've ever imagined."

"I think I liked the woolly mammoths better," Jason muttered, embarrassed but smiling.

"I can die happy now."

Piper's mouth twisted into a smile. "You tried to eat a stapler," she said to Jason.

"Don't knock it till you try it," Coach said knowingly.

"Come, come, we don't have much time," Thalia said, grabbing Jason's hand. "We have to talk- sit."

Piper took this a little too seriously, crumpling and collapsing into Rosie, who held her up.

"Whoa, Pipes," Rosie grumbled, struggling under the weight.

"Hypothermia and a broken ankle?" Thalia asked, frowning at Piper. She glared at Coach. "Why didn't you heal her?"

"I did," Coach said, frowning. "She doesn't smell like mushrooms _for no reason_."

Thalia rolled her eyes and looked at Leo. One look at Leo and Rosie knew it was another Kelsey Carmichael moment: he had the hots for Jason's sister.

"You. Take the satyr and follow my friend Phoebe to the entrance of the cave, outside. She's an excellent healer." She glanced at Rosie. "You too."

"It's freezing out there!" Coach complained, angrily tugging out of his horns.

Leo clapped him on the back. "Come on, old goat. Let's go."

Coach picked up Piper, carrying her toward the entrance. Rosie and Leo started to follow, until Jason called out, "Um, actually, could you two...maybe stick around?"

Rosie and Leo exchanged smiles: Jason wanted their support.

"Lucky for you," Leo said, striding over to sit by the fire. "We're professionals at sticking around."

"We're like a toe fungus," Rosie said, winking at Jason as she planted herself next to Leo.

Thalia raised her eyebrows.

"They grow on you," Jason explained sheepishly, sitting across from them.

"Like a toe fungus," she muttered, picking a loose thread on her sweater.

"Like a toe fungus," Thalia repeated flatly.

For a while, they sat in silence. Jason looked utterly freaked out, which Rosie kind of enjoyed; it was nice seeing Jason not be so perfect. Thalia seemed relaxed, but studied Jason, like she couldn't quite believe he was sitting in front of her. Leo was fiddling with some wires from his pocket.

Leo let out a long breath. "Soo-the whole 'not dating' thing with the Hunters...how strict is that?"

Rosie pretended to have a coughing fit. "Kelsey Carmichael," she coughed into her elbow.

Thalia shot Leo an icy glare.

Jason winced. "Sorry about Leo….he's trying to help." He shook his head. "Thalia, what happened? Why did you think I was dead?"

Thalia hesitated. "You don't remember anything?"

Jason frowned. "No. I woke up in a bus three days ago with Leo, Rosie-" he broke off and pointed to Rosie. "And Piper."

"We didn't do anything to him," Rosie quickly added. Thalia slightly intimidated her. "I mean, we thought it was a really overplayed joke...but..Hera! Hera stole his memories."

Thalia's eyes narrowed. "Hera? How do you know that?"

Having Jason retell their story, it sounded _ridiculous_\- had all of that really happen? Thalia, however, seemed unfazed.

At the end of the story, she shook her head. "I don't understand. Hera's just been...hiding you all these years?"

"I'm not sure, but...I think she wanted us to meet. I had a feeling this cave was important. It's like it was meant to be. That's weird, right?"

"Nah," Leo said, grinning impishly. "The Fates _definitely _wanted us to run into your hot sister." He winked at Thalia, whose face soured.

Rosie rolled her eyes at him. "See, you just ruined a perfectly cute moment between siblings-"

"Jason," Thalia interrupted. "Nothing is weird when it comes to the gods. Especially with Hera- as children of Zeus, she hates us."

"But...Hera said Zeus gave her my life...as some sort of offering."

Thalia went pale. "Oh, gods..Mother."

"Our mom?" Jason asked. "What about her?"

Thalia sighed. "Jason…" she hesitated. "Our mom wasn't...she was damaged. She was a TV actress, but it caught up to her: drinking, drugs. She knew our Dad was Zeus, and that got to her head. After all, gods don't stick around."

"Ain't that the truth," Rosie muttered under her breath.

Jason's face fell more and more as Thalia kept describing his mother. She could sense Jason becoming more and more distant. Rosie flashed back to the conversation with Jason in Maine, where Jason had confessed feeling alone.

"Hey, Jason?" Rosie said.

Jason said nothing, just looked down at his feet with a glassy expression in his eyes.

"Jason, look at me."

Jason's scared blue eyes met hers.

She gave him a comforting smile. "You've got us. You've got Thalia. You are a lot of things, nerd included, but you are not alone."

Leo grinned. "She's right, man."

"When I was seven," Thalia continued. "Dad started coming around again. For a while, it was like we were a family again. Dad was..more mature. Fatherly. That was the year you were born."

It was too familiar- it was painful how much she related to Thalia. Their fathers coming back around, acting like a family, having younger brothers.

"Are you okay, Freckles?" Leo was looking at her with concern. He knew.

She quickly wiped her face of emotion. "Yeah. Sorry. I'm fine."

"She went through the same thing," Jason explained to Thalia.

She grimaced. "I'm sorry. It's how it goes- they stopped coming around. When Zeus left for good, Mom broke. Around that time, monsters started attacking me. Mom took it out on Hera- she said Hera was after you and me. Two demigod children from the same family was too big an insult."

Rosie angrily turned to Leo. "Give me the wire."

"But-"

Rosie took the wires from him, angrily twisting and turning them in her hands.

Leo shot a sheepish grin at Thalia and Jason. "Sorry about her. She's...coping."

Rosie continued sitting there, angrily playing with the wires.

"Anyways," Leo said, letting out a big breath. "How did you two get separated?"

Thalia stared down at the fire. "I ...Mom took us to a park one day- you were two. I remember thinking it was weird, because she never really took us anywhere. She started walking towards this building in the park- gods, I never should have left you. She told me to get the picnic basket from the car...if I had known…" she took a shaky breath. "I left for two minutes-not even. I came back...and you were gone. Mom was crying, saying Hera had taken you and you...you were basically dead. Everything fell apart from that. I ran away from home and never looked back. I thought you were dead. I...I never spoke of you to anyone. It was too painful."

Rosie let out a shaky breath.

"Chiron," Jason spoke softly. "Chiron knew."

Thalia shook her head. "That's impossible, Jason. He couldn't have- I never told him."

"At camp, the first thing he said to me was that I should be dead."

Thalia frowned.

"You guys found each other though. That's good, right?" Leo offered.

Thalia nodded. "He's right. You're all grown up, bro." She glanced at Leo and Rosie. "You have friends."

"But where have I been that whole time?" Jason asked, his voice choking. "And what about the Roman stuff?"

"Roman stuff?" Thalia asked.

"He speaks Latin," Rosie rejoined the conversation, bragging like a proud parent.

"And he calls the gods by their Roman names," Leo added. "Show her the tattoos, dude."

Jason obliged, showing his sister the markers on his arm.

"Weird. Latin...our father sometimes spoke Latin. Mostly the second time around. Like I said, dad was different...more formal."

"Was Zeus maybe in his Roman aspect?" Jason asked. "Maybe that's why I think of myself as a child of Jupiter?"

Thalia slowly nodded. "It's possible. Unheard of ...but possible. That would explain why you think in Roman terms. But...you couldn't have possibly survived on our own. You had to be kept somewhere...you would've died otherwise."

"Comforting," Jason said sarcastically.

Rosie paused: she knew Jason didn't come from out of nowhere. There were others like him; the Cyclops proved that. A Roman demigod in a Greek camp.

Thalia sighed. "I'll have to talk to Artemis. Maybe she knows something."

"She's talking to you?" Leo asked. "I thought the gods were supposed to be silent."

Thalia waved that off. "Artemis works on her own terms. She just has to be careful to avoid Zeus. She thinks he's an idiot for closing down Olympus. She's actually the one to send us after Lycaon. She said it would lead us to a friend of ours."

"Percy Jackson?" Rosie asked.

"Uh. Yeah. How did you know?"

"Daughter of Poseidon."

Thalia's eyes went wide. "Seriously? That can't be a coincidence…"

Rosie leaned forward. "You think Percy has something to do with wolves?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how…"

She thought of her dream. Percy's disappearance had to do with wolves. Jason came from wolves. What was she missing?

The white wolf appeared at the doorway.

"I got it," Thalia said to it. She looked at the others. "We have to get moving- I can't lose my Hunters' trail. I'll take you to Aeolus first."

"You don't have-" Jason started.

"Hey," Thalia smiled at him. "You're my brother. I want to do a sisterly thing."

Jason smiled back at her. "Okay. Thanks."

"You've got to be kidding me."

Piper smiled gleefully at her as the four of them walked outside. Rosie had been expecting to find Piper and Hedge freezing their asses off. However, that Hunter girl-Phoebe- had set up a thermal insulated tent and doled out hot chocolate in styrofoam cups to Hedge and Piper.

"Is that _hot chocolate?_" Rosie asked enviously.

Piper held it out to her. "In the flesh."

"With marshmallows? Are you kidding?" Rosie asked, incredulous.

"Um, why is that girl giving me and Jason that look?" Leo asked nervously.

Phoebe glared at them over the rim of her cup.

"Oh, don't mind her-" Thalia started.

"Boys," Phoebe said disdainfully.

Rosie turned to her. "Hate boys," she said, nodding her head vigorously. She held out her hands. "Hot cocoa, please."

Jason shook his head at her as Phoebe passed Rosie a cup of hot chocolate. "Et tu, Rosie?"

"Back off with the Latin, professor," Rosie quipped, sipping her cocoa.

"If I say I have hypothermia, do I get hot chocolate too?" Leo asked, bouncing on his heels.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "I do not like this one," she said to Thalia.

"Come on, Pheebs. At least give them new winter coats."

Phoebe huffed, handing over three winter coats.

"How are you? Piper, right?" Thalia asked, sitting next to Piper.

Piper nodded. "That healing stuff Phoebe did? Amazing!"

"Yeah, not too shabby," Coach admitted.

"We should probably head out," Thalia said, standing up and gathering her supplies. "You good to run, Piper?"

"I feel like I could run ten miles," Piper admitted.

Leo puffed out his chest. "Not to brag or anything, but I was _pretty good _at running in gym class."

"Pipes, remember the time he threw up?" Rosie asked Piper.

"Which time?" She asked seriously.

Coach frowned. "You were a puker, Valdez."

"Guys!" Leo complained, throwing a worried glance at Thalia.

They began running uphill, Rosie keeping a steady pace next to Piper. Leo and Jason lagged behind them.

Rosie caught Piper up on the Jason drama as they ran, gossiping just like they used to do in gym class.

"Poor Jason," Piper muttered.

"I know," Rosie agreed. "He'll be fine though. I think we're getting closer to finding out who he actually is."

Piper said nothing, just ran with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Pipes?"

"Yeah?"

Rosie nudged her head towards the back of the running group. "That idiot only has eyes for you."

Piper smiled. "Thanks."

"Also, I am so beating you."

"No way!" She protested, increasing her speed.

Coach jogged past them, heading towards the front of the group.

"Come on, Reiger, I want to see you sweat!" He yelled, giving her vivid flashbacks of her stint at Wilderness.

"Coach, we've talked about this, I don't sweat, I _glisten_-"

"Pick up the pace!"

Rosie made a face at Piper. "Pushy goat," she muttered.

Piper grinned, as Rosie pushed herself to join the front of the group.

"Hi!" She said to a confused Thalia and Phoebe. "I'm here because of the stubborn, pushy half-goat."

Thalia smirked. "You're good at keeping up."

"You gotta be when you're in Coach Hedge's gym class."

They ran in silence for a few seconds, before Rosie spoke again.

"Can I ask you something, Thalia?"

The girl glanced at her nervously. "I guess so."

"What's Percy like?" Rosie asked this hesitantly.

Before running into Lamia, the idea of having another brother terrified her, but also secretly thrilled her. Now, she wasn't so sure. She didn't blame Percy for anything, but she wasn't sure she was going to be best friends with the kid. She didn't feel connected to her father anymore, and her father was the very thing connecting her to Percy.

She saw a brief smile on Thalia's face. "That kid...I love that kid. Hilarious- a true idiot at times. But loyal. So loyal…"

Thalia spoke highly of him. That had to count for something, right?

"I had no idea Poseidon had other children," Thalia admitted.

Rosie grimaced. "Yeah, I've been off the grid. Percy...he's on good terms with Poseidon?"

She shrugged. "I can't really speak for him...I know there was some resentment at first."

Yup- she had been there, done there.

"But I think it got better…they respect one another. I'm sure Poseidon loves him." She paused awkwardly. "And you, as well."

She shook her head. "No...he doesn't. I don't care. It's...whatever. Nevermind."

"He's got a great relationship with his mom. Percy, I mean."

She felt a flash of anger. Rosie didn't even have her mother anymore- her father ruined that. He took away her family- why was Percy allowed to have his intact?

She pushed those bad thoughts away. "I bet you miss him, huh?"

Thalia nodded. "Yeah ...the answer's right there, I know it is. I just can't…" She let out a frustrated sigh. "I keep thinking about purple t-shirts and wolves and….Latin…" She trailed off, a faraway look in her eye, which Rosie took as her cue to leave.

She lagged a bit behind, whipping around and running backwards in front of Jason and Leo, who appeared to be discussing something.

"Hey guys! Remember the time Jason tried to eat a stapler?" Rosie tried to sound upbeat and humorous.

"You weren't even there!" Jason exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Oh, in my head, I was. In my head, you're also thirteen when it happens."

"I was two," Jason moaned.

"Watch where you're going, Freckles," Leo said, nodding his head towards the front of the group.

"Um, I think I'm fine-"

Rosie smacked right into Coach as she said this, unaware that the group had stopped short.

"Pan's Pipes, Reiger!" He complained, steadying her.

"Sorry," she muttered, ignoring Leo and Jason's snickers.

They were near the summit of Pikes Peak, the entire world beneath them. It was beautiful- they were surrounded by the night sky, stars littering the sky.

Hovering in the sky above the mountain was a floating island of glowing purple stone. The only thing connecting the mountain to the floating island was a narrow bridge of ice. No, it wasn't really ice- more like semi-solid water vapor.

Her stomach lurched. "I am not going up there," she said, feeling sick.

Thalia sighed. "I'm not the biggest fan of heights, either, Rosie. But this is the only way. We'll have to cross in two different groups- it's fragile."

"No kidding," Leo said, studying the bridge with an engineer's mind. "Can't Jason just fly us up there?"

Thalia snapped her head towards Jason. "Wait, you can _fly_? Like Peter Pan style?"

Jason shrugged. "It's more like controlling the winds, I guess...you...you can't?"

Thalia faltered. "Uh, I've never really tried. I don't know."

Coach Hedge jumped forward, landing on the bridge with a triumphant grin. "Piece of cake! Ooh, I could go for some cake right now. McLean, give me your hand."

"Oh, I think I'm good-" Piper started, but Coach interrupted her by pulling her onto the bridge with him.

Thalia turned to Phoebe as the two of them continued walking forward on the bridge. "Go find the others. I'll be right behind you guys."

Phoebe's mouth twisted sourly, but she nodded and walked away.

"Move faster," Rosie complained, giving Leo a light shove.

"Blame Jason, not me, Freckles."

"Yo, Professor! Walk faster!" Rosie yelled at him as they crawled up the bridge at a creeping pace.

"I'm going as fast as I can," he said through gritted teeth. "Why do they even have a bridge here?"

"Sometimes the wind spirits need a place to connect to the earth. To feel closer to it, I guess," Thalia said from behind Rosie.

Leo tilted his head in confusion. "Weird that an air palace needs to anchor to the ground…"

"Jason, you are killing me!" Rosie yelled angrily, ready to tear her hair out.

"We should've swapped Rosie for Hedge," Jason grumbled.

A swap. She thought about those words- they bothered her.

"_What_?" She shrieked, her voice an octave higher than usual.

Jason shot a confused glance at her. "Uh, sorry, it was a dumb joke…"

"Say it again." She felt a thought forming in her head.

"Um…"

"Jason!" She begged.

"Okay, okay! I said we should've swapped you with Hedge."

A swap- an exchange.

Percy had been with a wolf in her dream-he had been at Camp before that. Jason, at some point, had been with wolves before ending up at camp. The two had been swapped...an exchange.

"The exchange!" She cried, flinging herself onto Leo, who yelped and staggered.

"Ow, Freckles!"

"Rosie? What are you saying?" Jason asked.

"Percy-" she broke off, panting. "You. It was an exchange."

Thalia's eyes widened. "Oh my gods," she said. "I know now why Artemis sent us here. You're the clue we've been looking for, Jason. You're the way to find Percy."

Jason looked lost. "What do you mean?"

Leo snapped his fingers. "Jason, Rosie's right! Didn't you say Hera called you a bridge? You're-you're connecting something-"

"Uh, Leo-" Thalia started.

"I don't understand," Jason said, shaking his head. "I don't remember anything, how can I help?"

"Leo, you're burning up!" Thalia cried.

She thought about her dream- gods, she felt so stupid. "The Wolf House!" She cried.

"Yes!" Leo exclaimed, ignoring Thalia and getting excited. Rosie hardly noticed the steam coming out of his ears, small flames peeking out from his nose.

"The Wolf House?!" Thalia yelled, her eyes as wide as saucers. "That's where Hera is?! You should've told me!"

"Why?" Jason said, sounding panicked. "Do you know where it is?"

Before she could answer, the bridges dissolved into flames, and Rosie felt herself falling.


	23. Cloudy with a Chance of Death

Rosie always figured that somehow, Leo would be responsible for her death.

She let out a colorful stream of curses as she fell down, Thalia grabbing her coat hood at the last second.

The momentum swung her body around wildly, Thalia grunting as Leo and Jason scrambled further up the bridge. Rosie yelped, as she heard Piper and Hedge yelling.

"Jason!" Thalia yelled.

Jason glanced back with wide eyes. Leo whipped around, horror on his face.

"Go!" Jason told Leo.

"But-"

"Go!" Jason said, giving him a push as he jumped off the bridge.

The wind supported him, bouncing him from air pocket to air pocket. He grabbed onto Rosie.

"This is my freaking karma for making fun of your stapler story!" She exclaimed, holding onto Jason.

"Probably!" He said, grimacing in pain as they rose towards Thalia. "Come on!"

"No, I can't!" She exclaimed.

"What?"

"Go! Find the giant keeping Piper's dad! We'll hold down the Wolf House until you get there!"

"But-"

"You know where it is!" Thalia called out, starting to pace backwards away from the slowly melting bridge. "I'll see you there, bro!"

Jason hesitated, but quickly bounced them up to where Piper, Coach, and Leo were waiting.

Leo's clothes were still smoking, and half of his eyebrow was singed off. "Guys, I'm really sorry-"

"It's all good," Rosie grumbled as Jason placed her down. "Maybe just review stop, drop, and roll."

Leo laughed sheepishly. "Again- sorry about that. Got a little too excited."

Jason waved him off. "It's okay, Leo. We've got other things to worry about-we only have 24 hours left. Let's go see Aeolus."

Jason stalked off without a word, hardly waiting for the rest of them.

Piper frowned. "I'm worried about him."

Rosie shrugged, following behind him at a distance. "It's a lot to process. Let him wallow for a while."

Coach bounded past them, following Jason up the extremely long flight of stairs. "Come on, cupcakes!" He yelled. "Chop, chop! Let's get those steps in!"

Leo went behind Coach, slightly patting his pants every few seconds.

Piper rolled her eyes. "You're not smoking anymore, Leo."

He shot them an embarrassed smile. "Just checking."

"You know," Rosie said. "If you start spontaneously combusting into flames everytime you're excited, we're going to have a lot of fun with this."

Piper smiled maniacally. "Yes. Yes, we are."

"You two are terrifying," Leo said, shaking his head.

"It's okay, Leo," Piper said, placing an arm around Rosie. "We've got a built in extinguisher right here."

When they finally reached the top, they were greeted by a pair of bronze gates, gates that were about twenty feet high.

Swinging open, the gates revealed polished, shiny purple brick roads. The rotunda at the end of the road supported four sections of grounds. Each one seemed to represent a season.

"Four cardinal directions," Jason muttered.

Coach Hedge eyed the section with a green pasture. "Could I maybe-"

Jason sighed. "Go for it, Coach."

Coach pranced off happily, muttering about grass color.

The four of them walked up to the white Rotunda palace, entering into a white marble foyer.

"Hello there!" Rosie jumped back into Piper as she realized a woman had floated up to them. She looked like an elf, but _actually _like an elf, not like when Rosie told Leo he looked like an elf. She had pointy ears and an ageless face- Rosie had no idea how old she was. She definitely wasn't human- she looked like she was made out of fog. Her dark hair blew like she had her own personal wind tunnel. For a second, Rosie wished she lived there- what she would give to live like a shampoo commercial. The woman had a Bluetooth in her ear and carried a white tablet. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Are you a ghost?" Jason asked bluntly.

Rosie smacked his elbow. "Jason, come on, it's impolite to ask people if they're a ghost," she said, pretending to be scandalized. She shot the woman an apologetic smile.

The woman pouted. "For your information, I am an aura- wind nymph, to be exact. I am far more _elegant_ than a ghost! My name is Mellie."

"Excuse him," Piper said gracefully, smiling at Mellie easily. "He's so distracted by your _beauty_\- I think our friend mistook you for Helen of Troy. Can you blame him?"

Rosie stifled a laugh. Piper really knew how to lay it on thick.

Mellie blushed. "Oh, you are too kind!" She giggled. "About that appointment…?"

"Um...we're here from Zeus?" Jason tried hopefully.

"Perfect!" Mellie enthused. "If you'll just follow me to security."

She lead them to a metal detector, where she instructed them to place their weapons into a bin for the time being.

"Of course, we won't rob you heroes of your weapons," Mellie said. "It's just for metal detector purposes."

Rosie, Jason, and Piper went through the metal detector with no issues. Leo, however, set it off.

He yelped and jumped backwards. "I didn't do anything!"

Mellie sighed. "Do you have a weapon on you?"

Leo thought about it. "Um...my toolbelt?"

"What's in it?"

"A lot...uh, I could pull it all out, but we'd be here for a while-"

Mellie sighed again. "It's fine. We have to move on- I can fit you all in before his 11:12 spot."

The lobby was like a pressurized wind tunnel. Winds blew fiercely around them, causing doors to open and slam on their own. Paper airplanes around them, being chased by wind nymph and other creatures.

A paper airplane poked Rosie's cheek. She winced and caught it. Opening it, she let out a laugh.

"What is it?" Piper asked, peeking over her shoulder.

"Look." She opened it for the four of them to see.

It was the worksheet from their Canyon field trip, the one Jason, Leo, and Rosie were supposed to fill out. She spotted her messy handwriting on the bottom: _WHO CARES!_

The four of them shared smiles.

Mellie gestured over to a set of doors, a green light blinking overhead. "Right through here, please," she said, opening the doors. "He won't kill us if we go in now. Follow me!"

Aeolus' fortress was enormous, with a domed roof above them. Television equipment floated all around them. Rosie quickly ducked out of the way of a flying camera.

Leo cursed as he stepped forward, nearly falling into the chasm. Jason quickly yanked him back as they realized with a shock that there was no floor.

"Mellie!" Leo yelled. "A little warning, next time?"

Beneath them was a deep pit, one that plunged into the mountain. Several tunnels were carved into the pit, some appearing to lead right outside. It was bustling with harpies, wind nymphs, and TV equipment.

Mellie reddened. "I am terribly sorry!" She placed a hand on her Bluetooth. "Hello, Nuggets? It's Mel- could we get a floor in the main studio? Yes, a solid one, please."

Rosie watched in amazement as harpies rose up from the pit, hammering and gluing together pieces of carpet, grass, plywood, and more together. They sure seemed to love duct tape.

"Is that safe?" Jason asked cautiously.

"Of course!" Mellie assured them. "They're very good at what they do."

Mellie drifted across the floor. The four of them exchanged nervous glances.

"I've already almost fallen to my death once today," Rosie said. "I'm not going first."

Piper gave Jason a nudge. "We nominate you," she said.

Jason took a tentative step forward, and surprisingly, the floor held.

Piper walked out after him, grabbing his hand. "If I fall, you're catching me, Superman."

Rosie bounded out after them. "I want in on that offer!"

"Me too, Superman," Leo said. "But I ain't holding your hand."

Mellie lead them towards the middle of the chamber, where a man sat behind a hovering desk and a control center made up of various screens. The screens were mostly playing news broadcast, but some weird things too: demigods battling monsters, coliseum fighting. The man's eyes rapidly darted from screen to screen, as if he wanted to take in everything. His business suit looked like it was made of the sky, shimmering and glowing. Rosie could tell he had some work done- his face seemed to be stretched out in weird places, and the corners of his mouth seemed to be perpetually stuck in the up position.

"Mr. Aeolus-" Mellie began.

Aeolus shushed her with his hand. "Silence! You gotta watch this,"

He turned the screen towards them. As Rosie watched, she could tell that he was watching the twister scene from _Wizard of Oz_.

Aeolus cackled. "Gets me everytime!"

"Sir," Mellie started cautiously. "This is-"

"Er, yes, Jason Grace," Aeolus said, briefly peering at him. "Glad the sea monster didn't eat you alive."

Jason hesitated. "I'm sorry, sir, I think you've mistaken me-"

"No, no, you're Jason Grace! You were here-hmm last year maybe? You were on your way to find some sea monster. I remember because it had a funny name..bother, now I can't remember. Do you?"

"Uh, no."

"And you!" He laser focused onto Rosie. "I know you."

Rosie panicked. "Um-hi-"

"You're the one who caused that 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Des Moines."

Had it really been that big? Rosie grimaced.

"I'm sorry-"

"I got a mouthful about that from your father-"

"Wait, _what?"_

"Two minutes to air, Sir," Mellie reminded him.

"Air." Aeolus sighed happily. "I do love air." Aeolus looked at Rosie and Leo. "Oh, you two would never be ready for air! Makeup!"

Rosie yelped as a small army of brushes and blotters descended onto her and Leo. She coughed as they blurred across her face, a cloud of smoke surrounding her.

Leo grimaced, gulping. "I think I swallowed some," he managed to choke out.

"I've gone blind," Rosie said to him, her eyes tearing.

Jason slipped off the golden backpack from his shoulders. "Mr. Aeolus. We have some rogue storm spirits for you."

"Oh." Aeolus' face was unreadable. "How...nice."

Leo took the bag from Jason. "Boreas sent us to catch them. Take them and maybe...stop ordering demigods to be killed?"

"Huh." Aeolus looked confused. He glanced at Mellie. "Mellie, did I order demigods to be killed?"

Mellie scrolled through her tablet. "Yes, sir. September 15th. That's also the day you ordered a Caesar salad for lunch."

Aeolus smiled fondly. "Ah, yes. Very good salad. I was grumpy that day, though- can't remember why. Ah, well. Mellie, rescind that order, please. Tell Teriyaki to take these storm spirits to cell block 14."

A harpy descended and snatched the bag from Leo.

Aeolus smiled at them. "Sorry about all that killing stuff! I was just… _mad_." His eyes glinted madly. "Huh...I remember now. There was a voice...telling me to give that order. A tingle on the back of my neck...yes, I had chills…"

Jason narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "A voice, sir? In your head?"

"Yes. Huh. Weird. Mellie, maybe I should kill them?"

"No, sir," she reminded him patiently. "They brought us the storm spirits, remember?"

"Right. Sorry." Aeolus laughed. "Mellie, send a gift to the demigods. Maybe a box of chocolates?"

Rosie felt exhausted just trying to keep up with Aeolus' train of thought.

"A box of chocolate to every demigod in the world, sir?" Mellie asked, her brow scrunched.

"Oh, good god, no! Too expensive. Hold that thought, Mellie, I'm on!"

Aeolus drifted towards a blue screen, just as the music started to play.

"Mellie…" Jason started slowly. "Is Aeolus always so…"

She smirked. "You know the expression 'whichever way the wind blows'? That's based off him."

"No kidding," Leo muttered, trying to wipe off the powder from his face.

"Mellie, was I here before?" Jason asked.

She blushed. "I'm sorry, I wouldn't know. I'm his new assistant. I've been with him longer than most have, though."

Piper narrowed her eyes. "How long do they usually last?"

"Well, let's see...I've been doing this for about twelve hours?"

"Huh. Congrats," Rosie muttered.

"Ladies and Gentleman," a voice blared from above. "Here's your forecaster for Olympian Weather- the OW channel- Aeolus!"

Aeolus shot a dazzling smile at the camera, as he posed in front of a green screen.

"Welcome, Olympus! Aeolus, master of the winds here. Let's see what we got here today! As you can see from the map, we have a low pressure system moving over Florida- oh no, wait, Florida Freeze is back on, Poseidon is upset...

Man, Zeus is _angry _with St. Louis, expect some winter storms!" Aeolus rambled off, backtracking and changing his mind every three seconds.

Jason shook his head, horrified. "What is he doing? Weather is not this random,"

Mellie shrugged. "Aeolus shows us why the weather is so unpredictable. I admit, it's hard trying to appease all the gods with the weather. It's enough to drive anyone…" she trailed off.

"And that's it, folks!" Aeolus finished. "See you in twelve minutes!"

Aeolus drifted back to them as the camera shut off.

"So I guess thank you for bringing back the storm spirits," he huffed. "Is there something else you wanted? Demigods are so picky."

"Sir," Mellie said, looking embarrassed. "Jason is Zeus' Son."

"I know, I said I remembered him, didn't I?"

"Sir, they're here from _Olympus_."

Aeolus jerked hearing this, letting out a spastic laugh. "Oh thank Zeus! I've been waiting _ages_\- eons, really, for negotiations!"

"What?" Piper asked.

"I mean, I get it. I'm the 'master of winds'- but what does that mean? The title is far too vague- I want to be a god! The perks are so much better, you know?"

"Bro," Leo said, stifling a laugh. "You think we're here to promote you?"

"You are, then?" Aeolus grinned. "Wonderful! I mean, I have such a great impact on the world, it was only a matter of time. Think of all the books written about me: _Into Thin Air, Gone with the Wind_-"

"Those are not...written for you…" Rosie said, squinting at Aeolus, confused at how backwards someone could be.

Aeolus blinked. "Of course they are."

Mellie was shooting Rosie daggers. "Dude, I've read _Gone With the Wind_-"

"They're biographies of me," Aeolus insisted. "Right, Mellie?"

"Of course, sir!" Mellie nervously squeaked.

"I don't read, so I'm taking Mellie's word for it. The mortals love me! We'll change my official title to god of the winds- much fancier. Regarding salary-"

"We're not from Olympus," Jason cut in.

"But-"

"I am Zeus' son," Jason said. "But we aren't here to negotiate your contract. We need your help, sir, we're on a quest."

Aeolus scoffed. "It's always that! Always some quest, some hero asking for my help! It's always about you guys, huh?"

"Sir-"

"Always have to help the poor weak demigods! Not even just helping, sometimes- sometimes both helping _and _destroying! Why, Aeneas, the first of your kind-"

"My kind?" Jason asked, confused. "Like demigods?"

Aeolus rolled his eyes. "Your _line _of demigods- Aeneas, Son of Venus. I was thrown into the middle of that conflict! One god would be like 'Aeolus, destroy Aeneas's ship!' But nooo, another god doesn't want that! You think it's easy juggling everyone's requests?"

"No, sir." Jason blinked. "Not at all."

"And don't get me started on Amelia Earhart! To this day, I am still getting angry calls from Olympus!"

Rosie snapped to attention. "Wait, do you know what happened to Amelia Earhart? Because-"

"Don't answer her," Piper quickly cut her off. "We just need information...we've heard that you know a lot."

"Well...I suppose that's true; I do know _a lot_. For instance, this 'friendship' between the four of you? It's going to end in bloodshed- fun, right?"

Aeolus held out a hand, catching a piece of paper. "Rosemary Reiger, is it?"

"Um-"

He sneered. "You're going to need to learn the _truth_ about your family unless you want to be a pawn." He began to read from the paper. "From the residence of Marina Reiger, address-"

"Stop!" Rosie exclaimed, yanking the paper out of Aeolus' hands.

Her face burned as she shoved the paper into her pocket, not looking at it. She never truly considered where her mom was now- for Rosie, she stopped existing outside of Maine.

"Touchy, huh? Oh, well." He caught another scrap of paper- no, a photo. It was a photo of Piper and her dad. "Ms. McLean? Your father is in trouble, isn't he?"

Piper took the photo from Aeolus, her hands trembling. "This-this is from his wallet."

"All things lost in the wind come to me eventually, dear girl." He said. "The photo blew away once the Earthborn caught him."

"What?" Piper asked.

Aeolus ignored her, as he focused on Leo. "Son of Hephaestus. Yes...your future is clear." He caught another piece of paper- a tattered drawing done in crayon.

Leo took the picture, slightly staggering back, his face crumpled in anguish.

"Leo? Are you alright? What is it?" Jason asked.

"Just-just some dumb picture I drew as a kid. It's nothing," he muttered, neatly folding it and placing it into his coat.

"Please, boy, it's the key to your success!" Aeolus laughed. "Now-information. You sure you want it? That could backfire."

Mellie shook her head at the four of them.

"Yes," Jason said, standing up taller. "We need to find Enceladus's lair."

Aeolus frowned. "Seriously, that horrible giant? Why would you want to go there?"

Piper held up the photo. "He has my dad. We need to rescue him and find out where Hera is located."

He shook his head. "I can't see that- believe me, I've tried. Her location is too veiled by strong magic."

"The Wolf House," Jason said. "Do you know where that is?"

He held up his hands in defeat. "Sadly, I do not."

Rosie could hardly focus on the conversation- she felt like that piece of paper was burning a hole in her pocket.

"But Enceladus does." Piper insisted. "If you help us find him, we could get the location of the goddess-"

Leo snapped his fingers. "Yes! If we save her, she'll be _super _grateful…"

He nudged Rosie.

"Huh?" She asked. Leo and Piper shot daggers at her. "Oh, right- she may even promote you."

Aeolus lit up. "A promotion? And all you want is the giant's location?"

"It would be nice to have help getting there," Jason admitted.

Mellie bounced in excitement. "Oh, yes, he can! He sends helpful winds-"

"Silence, Mellie!" He snapped. "I ought to have you fired for letting them in under false pretenses."

Mellie frowned. "Yes, sir. I apologize."

"Don't yell at her," Jason admonished gently. "But..about that help..?"

Aeolus paused, clearly listening to his earpiece. "Zeus is all for it," He told them. "He wishes you could wait until the weekend, he is throwing a party-Ow! Oh, Aphrodite isn't happy with him, she's reminding him solstice starts at dawn...and Hephaestus. I see...they rarely agree...Hmm."

Rosie kept waiting for him to mention Poseidon, but nothing came. She ignored the sympathetic glances from her friends.

Rosie heard a belch, as Hedge walked in, grass remains on his face. Mellie's eyes nearly popped out of her head, as she turned to Rosie and whispered, "Oh my, who is that?"

"Um, that's…." She didn't quite know how to describe Coach. "A friend...I guess."

"Oh, he's so _goatly_,"

"Er, not really my type, Mellie."

Behind Mellie, Piper mimed throwing up. Rosie quickly looked away, not wanting to laugh.

"Miss me?" Coach asked, striding over. "Wowie, this place is nice. Is that grass?"

"Please don't eat it," Jason said. "The sod is the floor. Coach, this is Mellie-"

Coach smiles flirtatiously. "A beautiful aura, of course."

"Is Coach trying to make a move on Mellie?" Leo whispered to Rosie in a hushed tone.

"Aeolus here was just going to help us," Jason said with a pointed look.

The wind lord sighed. "You'll find Enceladus on Mount Diablo."

"Devil Mountain?" Leo asked, his face dropping.

Rosie sighed. "You see, if you just helped me learn Spanish-"

"I know that place!" Piper cried. "I've been there before- it's east of San Francisco Bay."

Coach shook his head. "Bay Area- not good, cupcakes."

"As far as getting as there-" Aeolus broke off, suddenly frowning. He listened intently to the earpiece. "I-I see." He paused, looking up at them. "She hasn't spoken to me in years. I'm sorry, I have new orders- you all must die."

"Sir!" Mellie protested. "You can't! Zeus- Zeus said-"

"Mellie, shut it! These orders transcend the ones of mine- they come from much higher."

"On whose orders?" Jason snapped. "Zeus will fire you if you don't help us!"

Aeolua shook his head. "But no, that's where you're wrong, little hero. Your father understands orders- and if she is waking, she cannot be denied. Goodbye, little heroes. I'm terribly sorry."

Mellie screamed, "No!" as Aeolus flicked his wrist. Somewhere beneath them, Rosie heard the howls of storm spirits.

Mellie quickly dived at their feet, just as the floor was hit with the force of the storm spirits. The floor was blasted into shreds, exploding all over them and killing them had it not been for Mellie.

Rosie fell the open air beneath herself, as she and the others began to fall. Rosie began to tumble, closing her eyes and feeling sick. She heard Aeolus scream, "Mellie, you are FIRED!"

"Son of Zeus!" Mellie yelled as they plunged into the pit. "Help me!"

Rosie peeked her eyes open to see Jason grab Piper's hand. "Group hug!"

Piper grabbed Leo's hand, as Leo yanked Rosie towards him, Coach holding on to Mellie. The six of them huddled together, holding on for dear life to Mellie and Jason.

"Not good!" Leo yelled over their freefall. "Not good!"

"I'm gonna be sick!" Rosie moaned. "Who's not wearing deodorant?!"

"Bring it on, BREEZIES!" Coach yelled at the storm spirits following them from above. "I'll rip you to shreds!"

Mellie sighed. "He's so _manly_,"

"Mellie, please concentrate!" Jason begged.

"Right! Sorry!"

Jason and Mellie were able to channel the wind, so instead of free-falling, it felt more like a repetitive jolt. They all let out a collective grunt of pain as they slammed into the tunnel, sliding down an extremely steep vent.

"Ow-" Leo grunted as he slid behind Rosie, Piper on top of him. "Getting squished-into pancake…."

"Can't-hold-much longer," Mellie grunted through gritted teeth.

"Whose ankle am I holding?" Rosie wondered aloud, her head spinning.

"Mine," Jason grumbled.

"Sorry. It's a nice ankle-"

"You're doing great, Mel- can I call you Mel?" Coach asked. "My own mama Hedge was an aura, you know. She couldn't have done better herself."

"Iris-message me?" Mellie pleaded.

Coach winked at her, as Piper rolled her eyes and yelled, "Maybe flirt later!", pointing to the tunnel behind them.

The storm spirits were filling into the tunnel after them, quickly gaining speed.

"I won't be able to hold them!" Mellie called. "But I can shield you guys."

"Thanks, Mellie," Jason said sincerely, wincing as Rosie dug her fingers in deeper into his ankle. "Sorry we got you fired."

Mellie gave them one last smile, dissolving into a warm breeze before shooting them into the sky.


	24. Mother Nature is Kind of A Bitch

_She wasn't allowed to sleep on the couch. _

_Her mom didn't like that- once Max was born, he moved into Rosie's bedroom and Rosie had gotten a bed in her mom's room. The rule was: no sleeping on the couch._

_But she couldn't help it- there was a rerun of Full House on that she really, really wanted to stay up for. She hadn't meant to stay up that long- next thing she knew, she was asleep._

"_Rosie!" _

_Rosie instantly felt terrible- her mom knew, and she was going to get in trouble for it._

_She woke up, and instantly she knew: something else was wrong. Her mom was hovering over her, a phone plastered to her ear and her wild, curly blonde hair disheveled and crazy._

"_Mom?" She sleepily asked, sitting up._

"_Where is Max?" Her mother cried, gripping her shoulder. "Have you see him?"_

"_Max...no..no, didn't he go to bed?"_

_Her mom let go of Rosie, pacing the living room floor, muttering into the phone, "No, Buzz, she hasn't seen him...I don't know!"_

"_Mom, you're scaring me."_

_Her mom grabbed her hand. "Max is gone. We have to find him."_

_Buzz met them in the lobby, in pajamas and looking harried. _

_Her mom collapsed into Buzz's arms, sobbing. "I-I have no idea where he is, Buzz. He's-he's gone...w-w-what if she took him?"_

"_Shhh, slow down," he comforted her. "He's probably close by. Let's go; we'll find him."_

_She ran down the streets of their town with her mom and Buzz, holding flashlights and calling out for Max._

"_What's going on?" Rosie asked as she jogged alongside her mother, Buzz running ahead. "Does some women have Max?"_

_Her mom's face became unreadable. "Rosie-"_

"_Marina, I found him!" Buzz looked back at them with a serious expression._

_Her mom let out a sob of despair, running up to where Buzz was, jumping back at the last second._

_Rosie cautiously joined them, her mouth dropping in shock. There was a sinkhole right in the middle of the street, concrete unexplainable pulled down towards the center of the earth. Four-year-old Max was sitting in the center of the sinkhole, happily playing with his rubix cube, water pooling at his feet._

_Her mom collapsed onto the ground, shoulders shaking with sobs. "Oh, thank god," she cried. "Thank you, thank you..."_

_She pulled Rosie down next to her, kissing her forehead._

_The scene changed, and suddenly Rosie found herself in another familiar memory: sitting in front of the Headmaster's desk at Wilderness on her first day._

_Mr. Garrison looked at Rosie disdainfully; she wished he didn't look at her like that. That look that he gave her? It epitomized everything she thought she was: freak, nobody, worthless. _

"_Ms. Reiger," he peered at her over the rim of her file. Weirdly, she felt protective of that file: at this point, that file was the own possession of hers. "Your file concerns me."_

"_Well…" she hesitated. "That's my file. Just add water, and it's Rosie."_

_Mr. Garrison blinked at her, confused._

_She frowned. "Sorry...it's a joke."_

_Mr. Garrison scowled. "We don't take 'jokes' here lightly, Ms. Reiger."_

_Rosie felt her face harden._

"_There are certain expectations we have here at the Wilderness School."_

_She nodded. "I understand, sir."_

_She liked the size of her dorm room. It was small- it reminded her of her old apartment. When she walked in, she was met with her roommate- Gabi. _

"_Hi," she began nervously. When was the last time she actually had to talk to someone her age? She never did that back at the detention center. "I'm-"_

_Gabi never gave her the chance- she walked out before she could even finish introducing herself._

_With a sigh, Rosie sat on her bed, wondering how she was going to survive there. _

_The scene shifted once more, and she recognized it. _

_Piper walked into their room, a slightly dazed smile on her face._

"_Hey."_

_Rosie looked over at her from her desk. "Hey, I think this face mask is giving me a rash-"_

"_Jason kissed me."_

_Rosie paused. "What? When? Tonight?"_

_Piper nodded, a grin slowly popping up on her face. _

"_Well-what-" Rosie stuttered. "I-" She flung herself from her desk chair, screaming._

_Piper laughed, letting out a girly squeal as she grabbed onto Rosie, the two of them jumping up and down like crazy people._

_They got three noise complaints that night._

"Mother!"

She felt a jolting sensation.

"Ah!" Rosie screamed, waking up and flailing her arms around like a ninja, narrowly missing Jason's head.

"Fight?" Coach asked, baring his fists.

"Falling!" Leo grabbed the table. "Oh..no we're not. Where are we?"

It took her a moment to get her bearings in place. They were at a sidewalk cafe, the five of them around a table. It was a bustling area, with people chatting and drinking coffee together. She didn't feel cold at all, which meant they were on the West coast- California, maybe?

"Piper... what are you wearing?" Jason asked sleepily.

Rosie looked at Piper and stifled a laugh. It appeared that 'Mother Dearest' had given her a makeover- Piper was wearing a turquoise dress, with black leggings and black leather boots. She had on a silver charm bracelet, and had gotten her hair done.

She blushed. "Nothing...it's-nothing."

Rosie smirked at her best friend from across the table. "Mother strikes again, huh?"

Leo laughed. "Look who's talking, Freckles."

She looked down, and nearly jumped out of her seat. Piper's Mother had put her into a light blue strapless sundress with white polka dots, a dress that barely reached her knees. Her hair was curled perfectly, way more effort than she had ever put into her hair. She had on flats and dear god...was she wearing a sun hat?

She glared at Piper. "I hate your mother."

Piper smiled. "The dress brings out your eyes."

"Seriously, where does she take the clothes?!"

"That hat needs a wide load sign," Leo smirked.

Rosie narrowed her eyes at him. "Talk to me when you're not wearing that outfit, Valdez."

"What..._oh no_."

Rosie felt slightly better about her outfit looking at Leo's. He was wearing pinstripe pants, leather shoes, a white t-shirt with suspenders, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and a porkpie hat. The only thing that had remained with him was his tool belt.

Piper let out a giggle. "I think my dad wore that to his last premiere."

Leo reddened. "Shut up!"

Rosie smirked at Leo. "Wanna trade hats?" She asked, winking.

"I think you look better than you ever have, Valdez!" Coach admitted. "Of course, not as good as me."

It hurt Rosie to look directly at Coach. He looked like someone threw up pastels onto him. He was wearing a canary yellow suit with two-tone shoes that hid his hooves perfectly. Aphrodite also gave him a yellow broad-brimmed hat, a rose-colored shirt, baby blue tie, and a blue carnation in his lapel.

"Looking _great_, Coach," Rosie enthused, nodding.

"Well," Jason broke in sheepishly. "Looks like your mother overlooked me."

Of course Jason thought that- he was a guy. Rosie and Piper both knew, however, he wasn't exactly the same. His hair was neatly trimmed, and he was wearing a simple but clean outfit: purple t-shirt and jeans.

Rosie looked at Piper and wiggled her eyebrows, smirking.

Piper blushed. "Anyways," she broke off. "How did we get here?"

"That would be Mel," Coach said, sniffing his carnation. "She was able to shoot us halfway across the country. We would've been flattened like pancakes had she not cushioned our fall!"

"And she got fired for us," Leo frowned. "We suck."

Rosie nodded in agreement. "We do suck." Mellie was one of the first people they met on the quest who actually wanted to _help _them.

Coach waved them off. "She'll be fine," he said. "I do plan on iris-messaging her. That is one aura that I could see mothering my baby goats."

"Oh god, I'm going to vomit," Piper moaned. She reached a hand into her pack and threw a wad of cash onto the table. "Mother Dearest left some money, by the way."

"Everyone want coffee?" Jason asked, grabbing a menu off an abandoned table.

"No!" Rosie and Piper said in unison.

Jason blinked. "Okayy, they do have tea..."

"Leo can't have coffee," Rosie explained.

"Caffeine in general, really," Piper added, shooting daggers at Leo.

Leo moaned. "Really, we're still on this? It was one time!"

"Never again," Rosie said, shaking her head.

"Leo lost our pet rock," Piper explained to Hedge and Jason.

Jason looked between the three of them, extremely confused. "What?"

"Otis," Rosie moaned miserably, covering her face with her hands.

"Guys, I've told you, Otis is probably living on a happy rock farm-" Leo began.

"I'm sorry, what is going on?" Jason said, utterly lost.

"We had a pet rock," Rosie said, shutting her eyes tightly.

"You had a pet rock," Jason repeated.

"Otis," Piper said. "And one time, we were watching a movie in Leo's room, who had way too much coffee that night. He claimed to be using the bathroom-"

"He wasn't," Rosie chimed in, glaring at Leo from across the table.

"Really, in his caffeine craze," Piper continued. "He rearranged our entire room. We came back that night and Otis was gone- we still have no idea where he went."

"Huh, kinda like Chester," Rosie muttered under her breath.

"I offered to get you guys another rock!"

"It's not the same and you know it!" Rosie shot back.

Jason looked slightly uncomfortable. "Right. Okay. So hot chocolate for Leo...um..." He looked at Rosie and Piper. "I'm sorry for your loss, I guess..."

Piper and Rosie shot one final look at Leo.

They placed their orders (iced coffee for Piper, an Americano for Jason, an iced latte for Rosie, hot chocolate for Leo, six double espressos for Coach, and a plate of doughnuts for the table) and were able to figure out a little more about where they were. They were at the Café Verve in Walnut Creek, California. The waitress informed them that it was 9 AM on December 21st, giving them three hours until Enceladus's deadline.

Mount Diablo loomed over them menacingly during their conversation, it was right on the horizon, down the street from the coffee shop.

Leo pulled that old crayon drawing Aeolus gave him out of his pocket, staring at it silently.

Rosie kicked him under the table. "What is that?"

Leo folded it back up and tucked it away. "Nothing. Just some dumb drawing from kindergarten."

"No," Jason said. "Aeolus said it was the key to our success."

Leo shook his head. "Not today, guys. Later."

"You sure?" Piper asked.

He nodded. "Positive. Now, what's our game plan?"

Coach wiped powder off his lips. "Go to Mount Diablo. Kill everyone except McLean's dad. Boom."

"General Eisenhower, everyone," Jason grumbled.

"Hey, now-"

"Guys," Piper began. "I have some news." She took a breath. "I had a dream, and I can't tell you all the details, but...I know who the sleeping woman is. It's Gaea- Mother Earth."

"Gaea?" Leo asked with raised eyebrows. "Like Mother Nature? Um, isn't she supposed to have like flowers in her hair and woodland creatures doing her laundry as she sings?"

Rosie leaned back in her chair. "_Pretty sure _you're thinking of Snow White."

"No, I-"

"Enough you two," Coach butted in. "Gaea's the complete opposite of Snow White. This earth lady- she and her old man the sky aren't to be messed with."

"Ouranos," Piper said, glancing nervously at the sky.

Coach nodded. "Not the best daddy. Threw their first kids-the Cyclops- into Tartarus. They had another set-the Twelve Titans- and Gaea was afraid they'll get thrown into prison. She went to Kronos-"

"The dude they defeated last summer?" Leo asked.

"Yup. Gaea handed her son the scythe, and said 'Hey, kiddo, kill dad while he's distracted talking to me! Then you can take over the world. Great right?'"

There was a brief pause.

"So not Snow White," Rosie muttered.

"Nope," Coach agreed. "Kronos was bad. But Gaea was the mother of all bad guys. She's so powerful and huge it's hard for her to be conscious all the time. Mostly she stays asleep."

"But she's been talking to me," Leo said. "Rosie, too. How is that possible?"

"Even in sleep, she's partially active, conscious wise. She's not fully active yet. Believe me, you don't want to see that."

"She's getting more powerful," Piper said. "She's causing the giants to rise. If the giant king rises- Porphyrion-"

"It'll be bad," Jason finished. "He'll raise an army to destroy the gods, starting with Hera. Gaea will wake up eventually."

Coach nodded. "You know what that means. We have to stay off the ground as much as possible."

Rosie hung her head, the wide-brimmed sun hat hiding her face.

"So...like climbing a mountain?" Leo asked hesitantly. "That's...bad."

"I can't ask you all to do this-" Piper began.

"We're going," Jason told her.

"Definitely," Leo added.

"McLean, I am ready to blow stuff up!" Coach exclaimed.

"Rosie?" She heard Piper say. "Are you alright?"

Rosie slowly glanced up. "Why did Gaea want Max?" she whispered.

Piper frowned. "Rosie-"

"Why would she want him?"

Jason tilted his head in concern. "Rosie, what happened?"

She took a breath, deciding it was time. She told Leo, Jason, and Hedge about what really happened in Des Moines, how Lamia had showed her the conversation between Zeus and Poseidon. She explained how she now knew that Gaea had wanted Max, and to prevent this, Max had been killed.

For a second after she finished, none of them spoke.

Leo shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Man...I don't know what to say…"

Jason angrily clenched the table. "My dad- Zeus-"

"I don't blame you," Rosie quickly jumped in. "I know as well as anyone that we don't pick our parents...it's just…I want to know _why_…" she trailed off, trying to take a breath.

Coach looked thoughtful. "Could've been just the fact that he was a kid of the Big Three," he said, shrugging. "Or…" he trailed off, unsure of what to say. "You want the last doughnut, Reiger?"

"No thanks, Coach. You go ahead."

"I'm so sorry, Rosie," Jason said to her as Coach scarfed down the last doughnut.

"He was six," she muttered.

Jason shot her a sympathetic look.

Piper looked at her, concern in her eyes. "That paper Aeolus gave you…"

"My mom's new address. I'm almost positive of it." She just knew Aphrodite had kept it- it was probably in her bag.

She hesitated. "Are you going to open it?"

Rosie glanced down. "I don't know," she admitted. And that was the truth- she and her mother hadn't exactly left things on good terms. Who knows if she would even want to see her daughter?

Piper sighed. "Rosie, do you want-"

She quickly shook her head. "Let's not do this right now," she decided. "You know what I want to do? I want to go kick some giant booty."

**A/N: I realize not much happened this chapter, my apologies! next couple will be longer**


	25. Conquering

Elements weren't her thing- she didn't like the water anymore, the ground was out, and every time she was in the air she was just waiting for Zeus to strike her out of the sky with a lightning bolt.

And yet here they were, crammed into a too-small cab while creeping up Mount Diablo. Hedge was sitting in the front with the driver, while the four of them squeezed into the back.

Jason shifted uncomfortably against the window, trying to move his face away from Rosie's sun hat. "Rosie-" He panted. "I….really...hate this hat."

"Again," she groaned. "The sun hat was not my idea."

"Not mine either," Piper argued.

"Still a bad idea," Leo said, his voice muffled by the hat.

"_Everyone shut up about the hat_!" She yelled.

The cab driver slammed to a halt, stopping in front of a chain blocking the rest of the way.

"Sorry, folks," he said. "This is as far as I can go. My car's acting all funny. You sure about this?"

"We're sure," Leo said quickly, following Piper outside the car.

As Rosie got out of the car, she frowned at her feet. As soon as they touched the rock-solid ground, they began to slowly sink. It was Mother Earth, no doubt.

Leo paid the driver with Aphrodite's money. "You should get out of here," he warned the driver, who quickly sped off.

The view from the mountain was beautiful- she wished they were there on different circumstances. Thinking about it, the view haunted her.

"That's Concord," Jason muttered, gesturing to the north. "To the south is Danville...west that way? That's Berkeley Hills. Past that, San Francisco."

Piper looked at him with confusion. "You've been here before, Jason?"

"Yes. No. I don't know….." he had a faraway look in his eyes.

Coach shook his head. "You're going to want to stay away from there, Jason. It's Titan land."

Jason peered at the land with such longing and pain that it made Rosie worry. Why did he seem to be so in sync with an evil place? Was Gaea right- was Jason going to lead them astray?

_No_, she told herself. Jason wasn't going to do that- not their Jason, who would headbutt cyclops and try to eat staplers.

"Guys," Leo piped up. "We should keep moving."

He was right; all of them were slightly sinking towards the ground.

Going up the mountain proved to be a challenge-the earth slowly sinking beneath them didn't help. Rosie wished she wasn't wearing a dress, and she wished Piper's mother had invested in some walking shoes for her, instead of flats.

After what seemed to be forever, Jason knelt behind a wall of rock, motioning for the others to do the same. She sandwiched herself between Leo and Piper, Piper pulling Coach down with them.

"My outfit!" He yelled.

Piper shushed him.

"Everyone be quiet," Jason whispered.

"Doesn't matter, I'm sure they can see Freckles' hat from five miles away-" Leo began.

"_Shut up_-"

"Guys, look!" Piper cried in a hushed tone.

Just over the wall they were hiding behind, there was a forested depression where Enceladus set up camp. He appeared to have cut down some trees in order to start a purple fire. The outer rim of his camp was littered with construction equipment- Rosie had no clue what most of it was, but knew Leo probably did.

The monster was the worst- Rosie felt sick looking at him. She forced herself to breath. He was easily as tall as the trees that littered the crater, thirty feet. His upper half was muscular and covered in bronze armor. He had enormous arms, both of which were very muscular. His skin was maroon, covered in ash. He looked like he was made out of clay. His hair hung in dreadlocks, braided with bones. Waist down, his legs were scaly green and looked like those of dragon's. Enceladus was holding a spear in his hand, one that he would occasionally dip into the fire.

"So the plan-" Coach started.

"You're not charging him alone with only your club, Coach," Leo said, rolling his eyes.

"Seriously?" Coach groaned.

Rosie squinted, realizing that on the other side of the bonfire was a man tied to a post. He appeared to be unconscious.

Piper grabbed onto Rosie with a sharp inhale. "_Dad_," she managed to get out.

Rosie held onto her friend. "We'll get him, Pipes,"

"Why is everyone freaking out?" Coach asked, confused. "There's only one of him- there's five of us!"

"Coach, he's thirty feet tall!" Leo complained.

"So? You, me, Reiger, and Grace will distract while McLean gets her dad!"

They all glanced at Jason.

He raised his eyebrows. "What? I'm not the leader here."

"Uh, yeah," Rosie told him. "You are."

They never really discussed it- it was more of a silent agreement. Jason was their leader; they had no idea where he came from and yet he was obviously the most experienced out of the four of them. Rosie trusted him with her life- she trusted each one of them (even Coach) with her life.

"Okay," Jason said slowly. "Then we do what Coach said. A distraction is our best chance."

Nobody liked the sound of that- and yet, it was their only option.

"And Rosie?" Jason prompted.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe lose the hat," he said with a small smile.

In spite of the situation, she let out a laugh, taking the stupid sun hat off. Her curls were still annoyingly intact.

Leo let out a sigh. "Alright," He said. "Let's go before common sense kicks it."

Piper began to crawl along the ridge, as the four of them began walking into the clearing.

"Yoo-hoo!" Rosie called, waving. "Mr. Giant Man!"

Leo looked at her like she was crazy. Jason, however, went along with it, yelling, "Giant!" while waving his golden lance.

Enceladus grinned at them, showing fangs. "Well, well! A lovely surprise."

Rosie noticed Leo edging towards the bulldozer out of the corner of her eye.

"Let the very talented man go!" Hedge screamed. "Or I will swear I will shove my hoof up your-"

"Coach," Rosie laughed nervously. "Maybe ease up a little."

Enceladus laughed. "Satyrs are funny. I shall keep them around for when I eat all the mortals."

Coach frowned at Rosie. "Was that a compliment, Reiger?"

"I don't-"

Why were Enceladus's teeth glowing?

"Run!" Leo yelled, and suddenly it clicked for her.

She dove to the left, followed by Jason and Hedge, just as Enceladus unleashed fire. With a yelp, she realized the hem of her dress was on fire- she quickly patted the flames out. Where was Leo?

"I liked that outfit!" Coach grumbled, throwing his coat onto the ground.

Rosie got up, catching Jason's eyes. With one look, she understood. The two of them charged, Coach at their tail.

Enceladus slammed his spear against the ground, shaking the entire mountain. It sent Rosie sprawling onto the ground at the other side of the clearing, dust making her eyes water.

_Get up_, she told herself.

Shakily, she stood on her feet, glancing down at her skinned knees. Her vision was blurring- the world wouldn't stop spinning.

"How do you like that, Earth-shaker?" Enceladus bellowed at her.

"Gotta say," she admitted. "Not my idea of a superhero name!"

She noticed Jason staggering to his feet, blinking and dazed. Coach was knocked out cold, his canary pants falling off.

"I see you, Piper McLean!" The giant teased, sending fire into Piper's direction. "Thank you for coming! And you even brought the prizes!"

"Rosie?" Jason called out.

"Over here!" She still felt shaky, stumbling every time she tried to walk, making her way over to Jason.

The giant was addressing Leo, across the clearing. She could barely hear them. "You heard me right, Son of Hephaestus. Your little friend has sealed the deal. If she betrays you, she can take her father and go."

"Dad!" Piper yelled, tears streaked on her face.

"Ready?" Jason called out to her, lance in hand and a fierce look in his eyes.

"What, to get stabbed to death?!"

"We can do it!" He yelled. "You've got your dagger, you've got your powers, you can do this!"

She forced herself to nod. "I'm-I'm ready."

Before they could act, the giant roared, making Rosie's eardrums ring. The weirdest thing happened- six ogre-like creatures rose up from the earth. Each of them were about seven feet tall, with six arms. They smelled terrible, wearing ragged loincloths.

"What are those things?!" Rosie asked Jason.

He looked terrified. "The earthborn."

"The what?"

"They fought the original Jason."

She overheard Enceladus speaking to Leo and Piper. "They have a score to settle with heroes. Especially those heroes named Jason."

She looked at Jason. "Sounds like they hold a grudge."

The Earthborn were chanting something...she couldn't tell what it was.

"What are they saying?" She asked him.

Jason frowned. "I'd rather not say…"

"Kill Yay-Son! Kill Yay-son!" they chanted.

She grimaced at Jason. "Oh, we're screwed."

"You see, Piper McLean," Enceladus bellowed, so loud it echoed. "You must choose- your father or your friends."

Piper stepped forward. Even from the other side of the clearing, she could see how furious Piper was. "You will not take the people I love," she said forcefully. "None of them."

The earthborn seemed affected by her words- they stumbled back, mumbling, "Okay, our bad,"

"Fools!" Enceladus bellowed. "Earth-born! I will show you Jason."

Rosie was about to do something- she didn't know what: push over Jason? Jump in front of him?

Before she could decide, Enceladus pointed at Piper's dad. "There's Jason; rip him to shreds!"

"Now!" Jason said, pushing her forward.

She and Jason sprinted towards Enceladus, dagger in her hand while Jason carried her lance. She went to the right, while Jason went to the left.

The giant laughed. "Two children of the Big Three? It's my lucky day!"

"Slow!" Jason was yelling at her from the other side of Enceladus.

"Well, okay, you try running in flats!"

"No, I'm saying he's a giant! He's going to be slow!"

"Oh!" She quickly rolled out of the way. She understood now.

It became like a game of whack-a-mole, Rosie and Jason dodging the Giant's feet and flame-breathing. Jason managed to pierce Enceladus's ankle. The giant bellowed in pain, golden blood leaking out of his ankle. Rosie and Jason both scampered out of the way as Enceladus released fire. Jason rolled back under the giant, aiming for his knee.

She watched in awe, as Jason's fighting-abilities amazed her just as much as they did back in Maine.

"_Ah!" She fell back onto the warehouse's floor, Jason's sword narrowly missing her neck. _

_Jason barely noticed- his eyes had these fierce look, and his entire body moved like a machine._

"_Oh, sorry," he finally mumbled, looking down at Rosie. _

"_How the hell-" she broke off panting. "Are you so good?"_

_He shook his head. "I don't know."_

"Rosie!" Jason yelled, snapping her out of her reprieve.

She glanced at him- he was still on par with Enceladus' attacks, but he was slowly sinking into the ground, making it harder to move.

Rosie concentrated. She could feel cracks forming under her feet, water coming up to the surface. There must've been a spring somewhere beneath them. Wherever it was, it was helping. Rosie could freely move around, sprinting around Enceladus.

"Jason, get me up there!" She yelled.

Jason understood immediately. While distracting Enceladus, Jason managed to bounce Rosie up into the air, Rosie feeling herself being jolted up to behind Enceladus. She used her dagger to jab the Giant's shoulder, causing him to wail and stagger back, knocking into Rosie and making Jason lose control.

"Shit!" She screamed as her dagger went flying out towards the dagger, her body falling backwards.

_Thwack._

All of the air was knocked out of Rosie, as Enceladus's giant fist wrapped around her torso, squeezing. She yelled out in pain, feeling like her ribs were breaking.

She was face-to-face with the giant now, grimacing at how ugly he was up close.

The giant laughed. "Oh, she will be _happy _to have the Earth-shaker!"

Rosie flailed her legs, as Jason tried his best to get her down. She was so close. She finally managed to grab her shoe, and although it wasn't the most polished maneuver, she threw it at Enceladus' head. The shoe hit him squarely in to the jaw, enticing a wail from him.

Rosie was thrown like a rag doll to the ground, falling hard onto her back. She let out a scream, one racked with pain.

Rosie couldn't move. She tried to get off her back, but she was in too much pain. She was vaguely aware of flames, flames headed her way.

Suddenly there was steam, superheated steam. Did she extinguish it?

Rosie felt a rumbling sensation beneath her. _Oh no_\- it was happening again, but this time around, it was weaker, dilapidated by her weakness.

There was a puddle forming beneath her, one that seemed to give her a last push of strength.

She managed to lift her head just in time to see Enceladus sweep his spear sideways, meeting Jason's javelin. With a snap, the javelin shattered.

The explosion made Rosie fall back again, blinding her with a hot light. She knew Jason fell, too- she realized Enceladus was standing over Jason, who had fallen into a crater. The explosion had created a pit in the middle of Enceladus's camp.

The ground was still rumbling, and for a minute Rosie wished she could make it worse- more powerful.

_Help._ They needed help. Rosie prayed for help, even though she knew no one was listening.

She propped herself up on her elbow, nearly blacking out. She was covered in soot, scratches and bruises, and was missing a shoe.

Enceladus called Jason a sacrifice to Gaea. It was like it was happening in slow motion- Enceladus's spear slowly moving towards Jason's chest.

"_Leo_!" She screamed, her voice coming out ragged.

"Heads up!" Leo yelled back.

A large black metal wedge slammed into Enceladus with a _thunk_, causing the giant to topple over into the pit.

"Jason, get up!" Piper commanded powerfully, grabbing his hand. She hauled him to his feet. "I forbid you to die."

"Yes, ma'am," he muttered groggily, blinking.

Enceladus wasn't dead- nope, that would've been too convenient. Instead, the giant was standing again.

"Freckles!" Leo appeared over her. "Come on, get up!"

The rumbling was still happening, and she wished it would _stop_. At this point, it was depleting her strength even more, the little strength that she had left. She didn't want to get up.

"I realize I'm not a charmspeaker, but you need to get up!" Leo yelled, grabbing her hand. "Wait, what happened to your shoe?"

She got up, leaning on him as the two of them headed to Jason and Piper.

Leo cursed as he saw the giant rising. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Giants cannot be killed by you heroes and gods," Enceladus said with a smile.

Jason's face fell. "Only by both? It's true, isn't it? We have to work together to kill you."

"You will die before you get to try!" He said, climbing out of the pit.

"Anyone have a god handy?" Rosie muttered groggily.

Jason looked determined."Leo- get some rope ready for me. Rosie, I'm going to need some water."

She didn't know if she had the strength to do it- but she nodded. She couldn't let them down.

Jason began to charge, no weapons in his hands.

"Enceladus!" Piper yelled. "Look behind you!"

This was it- Rosie focused, causing the ground to crack, water sprouting out. As Enceladus was turning around, he slipped on the water. Jason tackled his legs, making Enceladus lose his balance, falling in the crater and sliding down. He was able to rise again, but not without Jason on his shoulders.

"Get off!" Enceladus yelled, trying to pluck Jason off his head.

Rosie smelled something metallic.

Jason looked over at the three of them. "Hit the deck!" He yelled.

They all quickly threw themselves down, as Jason summoned a bolt of lightning that lit up the sky. Rosie felt a giant crack, as lighting met her rumbling and caused the mountain to split apart and form a chasm in the Earth.

Enceladus' legs slid into the chasm as he looked at Jason with hatred. "You haven't won this battle yet, demigod. My brothers are rising and we will destroy the gods! You will die-"

Enceladus fell into the crevice, the earth shaking violently under them. Rosie saw Jason fall towards the chasm.

Leo whipped out some rope, throwing it down to Jason, Piper and Rosie helping him pull Jason up. Together, they huddled as the chasm closed, the ground finally stopped from pulling at their feet.

They stood there in silence, taking in the carnage. The mountainside was still on fire, parts extinguished by Rosie. Smoke billowed up into the air. The Earthborn were gone, taken care of by Leo, and now simply piles of clay. They were all covered in soot and bruises, their clothes ripped up and smoldering.

Coach Hedge sat up with a groan, rubbing his head. He blinked as he took in the damage. "Whoa, I went crazy, didn't I? Take that, cupcakes!"

Hedge stood up, doing a little dance. Rosie burst out laughing, Leo leaning back and laughing as well. Jason joined in, sounding slightly hysterical. Just as it began to die down, Rosie looked at her bare foot and started laughing again.

A mood stood up from across the clearing- Piper's Dad. She knew the face from the movies- but she could tell he was traumatized. He looked utterly shell-shocked.

"Piper?" He called out hollowly. "What-What-"

Piper got up, running over to her dad and nearly knocking him over. She hugged him tightly, crying. Mr. McLean stood there, looking confused. He looked like he was coming undone at the seams.

"We need to get him out of here," Jason said, looking at Mr. McLean.

"How? None of us are in shape to walk," Leo said.

Rosie chewed the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "I don't know, maybe we could…"

She was drowned out by the sound of something approaching. For a fearful second, she thought the Earthborn had already re-formed. They all got to their feet.

"What is that?" Leo asked, frowning.

The sound was getting closer- she didn't know what it was. Hooves? Or was that just Coach tap dancing?

"No panicking…" Jason muttered.

She could see something in the distance, something that called out to her. That wasn't possible….

"Are those _horses_?" Leo asked.

Rosie let out an incredulous laugh as she saw the horses come into view, three of them. The one in the front had a beautiful black and white coat. She couldn't believe it- he had heard her. He came to help her- he always came when she needed help.

She walked towards the horse, placing a hand on its snout as the horse neighed.

"Uhhh, Freckles, you know that horse?" She heard Leo's confused voice from behind her.

"Yeah," she said, smiling to herself. "I do."

_Hello, old friend._


	26. Houston, We Have a Problem

She was still pinching herself- Karey. It was her Karey.

_Heard someone needed help?_

She laughed in disbelief. "I can't believe this- how did you even-"

_You called for help._

She grinned back at her friends. "This is Karey." Her horse nodded towards her friends.

Jason smiled, placing the name immediately. "_The _Karey?"

She nodded. "The Karey."

Leo looked confused. "Am I missing something?"

_You didn't tell your friends about me? _Karey gave her a reproachful look.

Rosie pointed to Jason. "Eh, I told him," she told the horse.

Leo jerked back. "Wait, you can _hear_ the horse?" He quickly looked at Jason for confirmation.

_What's the short one's problem? _

Jason laughed. "The horse whisperer."

She mounted onto Karey, grinning down at her friends. "Alright, people. Everyone, get on a horse. They can take us down the mountain."

Coach gathered their supplies, as Piper talked to her father soothingly.

"Piper-" Mr. McLean grunted in pain, stumbling. "What's going on? Monsters-"

"You're safe now," Piper said, her voice shaking under her charmspeak as she steadied her father. "These are friends- we're going to get you help, okay? Just get on the…" she trailed off, looking at Rosie.

_Bikes._

"Bikes," Rosie offered helpfully.

"Right! Bikes, Dad, come on, let's ride this one." Piper lead him to the other horse, Jason helping them mount.

Coach leaped onto the third horse. "Alright, cupcakes! Let's move it, people!"

Karey galloped over to Leo. Rosie glanced down at him. "You coming or what, Valdez?"

Leo sighed, glancing at his options: either share a horse with Coach, and go on the other one, which was already full with three people.

Leo moaned, holding his hand out to Rosie. He mounted onto Karey. "I miss Festus."

_Just say the word, chief, and I'll pitch him off_.

Rosie giggled. "Good one, Karey."

Leo raised his eyebrows. "What is it? What is the horse saying about me?!"

"He says he likes the hat."

Leo groaned, throwing his hat on the ground, leaving it behind as the three horses started galloping away.

Karey just...knew where to take them; he always did. He brought them down off the mountain, a safe distance away. She spotted a park service helicopter landing in front of them.

The pilot glanced at them a little too long for her liking, and Rosie hoped the horses still looked like bikes.

"Blades...they had a machine with blades…" Piper's dad muttered, glancing at the helicopter.

"What's wrong with him?" The pilot asked, frowning in concern at Piper's dad.

"Smoke inhalation," Jason quickly answered, dismounting his horse.

"He needs a hospital," the pilot murmured, nodding.

"No," Piper said. "The airport is fine."

The pilot nodded immediately. "Yes," she said. "The airport is good ...is...is he Tristan McLean?"

"No," Piper answered. "He's not. Forget it."

"Yeah," the pilot agreed. "I...I forgot what I was saying. Let's go."

Piper loaded her dad onto the helicopter, as Coach and Jason followed on board.

Leo hopped off Karey. "Thanks man," he said, petting Karey. He looked up at Rosie. "You two...take a minute."

She smiled gratefully at Leo, as he walked onto the helicopter.

Rosie dismounted, standing in front of Karey, silent.

_We don't have much time, kid._

"I-I know." She sighed. "Karey ...how did you really find me? You're...you're just always there, even when I don't realize I need help-"

_We can't talk about this, Rosie._

"But-"

The horse shook its head. _You be careful for me, okay? There's a lot you don't know. Your anger is powerful; don't let it make you become bitter._

"What...what do you mean?" She didn't understand; she wished Karey would just give her the answers.

_You have a destiny, Rosie. People are going to try to distract you from that._

"Karey-"

The horse leaned forward, affectionately resting its head on her shoulder for a second.

_Go. Save Hera._

And just like that, he and the other horses were gone-vanished out of thin air. She didn't even get the chance to thank Karey.

"Reiger?" Coach called over the blades of the helicopter.

"C-Coming. I'm coming."

She boarded onto the helicopter, the pilot heading off towards the airport. As they rode, the pilot ignored questions coming in from over her radio.

Piper's dad was agitated. "Pipes," he grabbed onto Piper's hand. "They told me-told me you were going to die. They-they talked about terrible things."

Piper pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to cry. "It's alright, dad. Everything is going to be okay."

"But the monsters," he continued, clearly pained. "Real monsters...just like Grandpa Tom's stories...how could that be? They said you...that you were a demigod. Your mom…"

Piper slowly nodded. "Aphrodite," she explained. "The goddess of love."

Rosie looked away. She glanced at the window, watching the world pass beneath them. It was too painful, watching Piper and her dad interact. She knew Tristan McLean as the suave, confident movie star- she'd never admit it to Piper, but she thought her dad was _hot_. But right now? He was clearly broken- not to mention, everything Piper was telling him was breaking him even more.

"I didn't know about Mom," she told him. "Not until you were taken. No one is going to hurt you again, Dad."

Her dad shivered. "You...you're a hero, Piper- you and your friends. Real heroes. I'm...I'm so proud. Your mom never told me ..."

"She didn't want to hurt you. But she loved you."

Rosie didn't even realize she was crying until a tissue appeared in front of her face, produced by Leo's toolbelt. Leo had to be uncomfortable- while he excelled at machines, sad situations always seemed to make him silent and slightly stiff. Rosie shot him a small smile in thanks. She took the tissue, wiping her face. Piper's dad was broken; he was hurt. Their world was so beyond his comprehension, his mind couldn't process it. He was traumatized.

She thought about her mom. In particular, the piece of paper currently in her bag. Could she do it, re-enter into her mother's life? Especially now, with all that she knew? She knew her mother knew about monsters...her mom knew that much. However, would it just cause her mom more pain by coming back? By dragging her into this unfamiliar world?

It was for the best, she realized. Her mom had probably moved on. Rosie hoped she was happy- the last thing she needed to do for her mom was mess up whatever life she's built for herself. The best thing she could do for her mom was to disappear- she knew that from the moment she left Maine.

With shaking hands, she took out the piece of paper with her mother's address on it. She took a deep breath, slowly ripping the paper into tiny shreds. She brushed the shreds off her dress and onto the floor.

She sat there, not saying a word until Jason nudged her foot. She looked up at him.

"What?"

He pointed at something down below. "What is that?"

Nothing stood out to her- it was just hills, woods, normal things.

"What are you talking about?" She didn't think anything below was worth pointing out.

"The road," he said. "The one going through the hills."

Piper overheard this, relaying the question to the pilot.

"She says it's Highway 24...Caldecott Tunnel," Piper answered, a confused look on her face.

Jason stared at the tunnel, as if he knew it but couldn't quite place it.

"Monsters," Piper's dad had a tear running down his cheek. "All I see are monsters."

Thanks to Piper's commands, the helicopter was able to land on the tarmac at Oakland Airport.

Once they unloaded, nobody seemed to know where to go next. They stood there, fists in pockets and shuffling their feet.

"What now?" Jason asked Piper.

Piper hesitated, glancing down at the ground. "I-I have to get my dad home. I'm so sorry."

Rosie felt herself frown- she knew Jason and Leo were upset as well. She quickly swooped in.

"Of course," Rosie said, nodding. "He needs you right now."

"Yeah, beauty queen," Leo said, backing her up. "We can take it from here!"

Mr. McLean stumbled over to them. "No, Piper," he stuttered. "Your quest-"

"I'll take care of him," Coach offered.

Piper jerked back in surprise. "You, Coach? Are you sure?"

He shrugged. "I'm a protector- that's what I do. Not fighting…" he trailed off, crestfallen. Rosie realized that maybe, Coach was upset about getting knocked out at Mount Diablo. She wanted to give that goat a hug.

Coach cleared his throat. "Of course- I'm great at fighting too…" He glared at the four of them, daring them to argue.

"Oh yes!" Jason exclaimed, nodding.

"Terrifying," Leo offered.

Rosie stiffly nodded. "I have chills."

"But I'm good at protecting too," Coach admitted. "I can do this. He's right, Piper. You need to continue the quest."

Piper blinked back tears. "Dad.."

Mr. McLean held out his arms to her. Piper walked right into them, holding onto him tightly.

"We should give them a minute," Jason said.

They nodded, walking down the tarmac with the pilot, clearing Piper and her Dad some space.

"They'll be okay," Jason said, as Rosie stared at them.

Rosie gulped, nodding. "I know they will be. I'm just thinking of poor Mr. McLean dealing with Coach."

That elicited a laugh from Jason and Leo, breaking up the tension.

"Mr. McLean better start working on his pushups," Leo joked.

Jason smiled. "Yeah."

They watched as Hedge and the flight attendant got Piper's dad on board his personal plane. They walked back to join Piper, Hedge jogging over to them to say his good-byes. He gave Piper a hug.

"Thank you, Gleeson," she said, her voice shaking.

"I got it all under control, kid,"

Hedge started backing towards the plane, glaring at Jason, Rosie, and Leo. "You three take care of her, alright? Or else I'm gonna make you do push-ups."

"No push-ups," Jason promised.

Rosie saluted. "Sounds like a fair deal to me, Coach."

"No funny business, Reiger. You too, Valdez."

"You got it," Leo said, hiding a smile.

As the plane started to head down the runaway, Piper began to cry. She turned around, throwing herself into Rosie's arms. The pilot of the helicopter shifted uncomfortably.

Rosie held her best friend as she cried. "I've got this," she told the boys, who were concerned but kept their distance. "You got anymore of those magical tissues, Valdez?"

Leo nodded vigorously, happy to have something to do, producing tissues for Piper to use.

"He's in good hands, Pipes," she whispered to her best friend.

Piper allowed herself to be held for a few seconds, before she cleared her throat and stood up straighter, letting go of Rosie.

"Thank you guys," Piper began. "I-" she broke off, obviously unsure of how to express her gratitude.

"We know, Piper," Jason smiled at her.

The air began to shimmer. At first, she thought perhaps it was a mirage, but she soon realized an image was forming. It was an Iris- message. Thalia appeared, bow in hand.

"Thank the gods!" She exclaimed, seeing she connected to them.

"Thalia? What's going on?" Jason asked, stepping forward in concern.

"We found Hera! Where are you guys?"

"Oakland," he replied. "Where are you?"

"The Wolf House! Oakland's good; you can make it. We're holding off the Giant's minions for now...but you need to get here before sunset!"

"It's not too late?!" Piper exclaimed, sounding hopeful.

"Not yet," Thalia said, shaking her head. "But Porphyrion is rising."

"But Thalia," Jason said. "Where is the Wolf House?"

"Our last trip. The park. Jack London. You know!"

The image flickered, completely dissolving. Jason staggered back, his face pale.

"Uh, you alright?" Leo asked. "You know where Thalia is?"

"Yeah," Jason said. "Sonoma Valley- not too far by air."

For a minute, no one moved. Everyone seemed to be stuck in place.

Rosie clapped her hands together. "Well, okay- let's do this! Come on people, move it!" She paused, frowning at the pilot. "Uh, what do we do about the pilot?"

"We can't take a mortal into battle," Jason said. He turned to Leo. "Could you fly this thing?"

Leo raised his eyebrows. "You want me to fly a helicopter?" His expression wasn't exactly reassuring.

Rosie quickly jumped in. "Dude, you tamed a dragon. Helicopter? Easy-peasy."

"Bell 412HP utility helicopter," Leo placed a hand on the side of the helicopter. "Composite four-blade main rotor, crushing speed 22 knots, service ceiling twenty-thousand feet. The tank is nearly full. Yeah-I'm in."

"I call co-pilot!" Rosie shouted out.

Piper turned to the pilot with a smile. "You don't mind underaged unlicensed kids borrowing your helicopter, do you? We'll be sure to return it."

"I-no problem with that," the pilot managed to get out.

Leo grinned. "Well then, hop in, kiddos. It's time to go for a ride!"

Leo put up a good front- he looked confident behind the helicopter controls. He somehow just knew how to do the right thing- flipping the right switch, easing back on the stick.

He glanced over at her. "Co-pilot, you're staring and it's freaking me out."

"Things going okay?" She asked him.

"Peachy," he said, shrugging. "So what's the Wolf House?"

"A mansion in Sonoma Valley," Jason piped up from the back, where he was sitting with Piper. "A demigod named Jack London built it."

"Jack London?" Leo frowned. "Why do I recognize that name? Is he an actor?"

"Writer," Piper said. "Adventure stuff, I think."

Jason nodded. "Yeah. Son of Mercury- I mean Hermes. He traveled the world; pretty sure he was a hobo for a while. Then he made a fortune writing- he bought a ton of acres with his fortune. He built a mansion on the land- the Wolf House."

"Let me guess," Rosie said. "Named that because he wrote about wolves?"

"Sort of," Jason said. "But mostly, the House and him writing about wolves- he was dropping hints about his personal experience. To the average person, there were a lot of unanswered questions about his life: who his dad was, why he wandered so often. The types of things that could only be explained by a demigod life."

Rosie was pretty sure this was the most she's ever heard Jason talk.

"So...he went to Camp Half-Blood?" Leo asked.

Jason shook his head. "No," he said in an ominous tone. "He didn't."

"Acting a bit _Twilight Zone_ there, buddy," Rosie muttered.

"Jason," Piper began. "Are you remember your past?"

"Pieces," He said. "Nothing but pieces. It's...it's not good. The Wolf House is sacred land. It's where London found out he was a demigod. That's why he eventually returned there. He thought he could claim the land, but the House was cursed. It burned in a fire the week before he and his wife were supposed to move in. A few years later, he died and they scattered his ashes on the site."

"And you know this, how?" Piper asked.

Jason frowned, a shadow passing over his face. "It's where I started my journey too," he said. "It's a powerful place for demigods...powerful but dangerous. If Gaea can claim it, use its power to entomb Hera on the solstice and raise Porphyrion...that could be enough to awake the earth goddess."

She was scared. She wasn't used to heading into danger head on. Her first instinct...well, her only instinct really was to run. Push off the emotions, and run.

"Thirty minutes out," Leo said to them. "Now's a good time to rest if you need it."

Jason took this seriously, passing out like a light in the back of the helicopter. Rosie would glance back at Piper every so often. Piper was frowning, staring intently at Jason as he slept.

She studied her best friend- she was struck by how Piper's presence had changed in the past few days. Was this really the girl that wanted to sit in the back of the classroom all the time? Or the one who worried if she ever slept past her alarm? She was different, now- she demanded attention.

Rosie nudged Leo, nodding towards Piper.

Leo cleared his throat. "Beauty queen," he spoke up. "He'll be fine- your dad, I mean. Especially with that crazy goat around."

Piper knelt between their seats. "Yeah…" she said. "You're right- he will be fine. I'm just thinking about Jason. I mean, I'm worried about him…"

Leo tensely nodded. "He's remembering things...that's enough to make anyone edgy."

Piper nervously wrought her hands together. "What...what if he's not the same person? What-what if doesn't want anything to do with us when he remembers things?"

"Nah," Leo quickly waved her off. "Not after everything we've been through."

Rosie nodded, agreeing with Leo. "We know who he is- that's all that matters, Pipes."

Piper gave them a small smile. "Out of all the animals at Wilderness, I'm so happy it was you two who came on this quest."

Rosie exchanged a smile with Leo. "We make a pretty good crew," she admitted.

"Yeah," Leo nodded. "We really do."

"But guys," she started seriously. "What happened to Chester?"

Leo let out a laugh, losing control of the helicopter for a second. Piper smacked him, laughing, as he quickly got it under control.

"Geez, Freckles," he said. "Don't do that to me!"

"Poor Chester," Piper moaned, holding her stomach as she laughed.

"To Chester," Rosie pretended to toast, holding up her hand.

"To Chester," Piper and Leo said in unison.

Piper leaned her head against Rosie's seat. "How much time we got? I think I want to lay my head down for a second…"

"Go ahead," Leo told her. "We still have a few minutes."

Soon, the only thing they heard was the whirl of helicopter blades and Piper's light breathing. Leo played with the controls, occasionally flipping switches. For a while, neither of them spoke.

"Earth to Co-pilot," Leo said in a robotic tone, speaking into his headset. "Over."

She glanced over at Leo. "Co-pilot present," she said weakly. "Over."

"The pilot wants to talk…" Leo trailed off. "About the co-pilot ripping up her mom's address. Over."

"Co-pilot is fine," she insisted. "Over. Really Over."

Leo shook his head, dissatisfied with that answer. "Pilot is calling bullshit on co-pilot. Over."

She sighed, shaking her head. "Co-pilot can't talk about this right now. Over."

"Pilot-"

"Co-pilot _really_ can't talk about this right now- Look!" She pointed to the windshield, where rocks- no, sleet, was pelting the glass.

Leo cursed, quickly pulling the joystick down.

"Houston," she muttered to herself. "We have a problem."


	27. Hera Holds a Grudge

Instantly, the helicopter began shuddering, its movements becoming sluggish and jerky. The wind started to pick up, ferociously roaring. The windshield's visibility diminished, as slushy waves of ice blotted the view. The storm slammed into them viciously.

Instantly, Jason and Piper began to arouse, their bodies trembling in the backseat.

"Is that an ice storm?" Piper yelled over the sound of the copter and the wind.

"Nah, Pipes, we're just getting pelted with ice for no reason!" Leo yelled.

"Okay, _Leo_-"

"We must be getting close!" Jason shouted.

Leo began wrestling with the controls, desperate to keep them afloat. The helicopter wasn't built to handle cold weather. That became obvious as they began to descend, losing altitude. Rosie couldn't make out anything past trees and fog.

"Wait!" she cried, pointing at something she spotted. "There!"

A valley opened up beneath them, the vague shape of a building emerging. Leo glided the helicopter towards the ground, the helicopter groaning in protest. He was able to land the helicopter about fifty yards away from the house. Leo let out a sigh of relief, wiping soot from his forehead.

Suddenly, Leo's eyes widened as a dark object started hurtling towards them out of the fog.

"Out!" he screamed.

Rosie jumped out of the copter, as a massive boom went off behind her. She fell onto the ground, covered in snow and dirt and mud. She really hoped Aphrodite didn't mind them basically destroying their clothes.

She got up, seeing that a huge snowball had flattened the helicopter.

"Is everyone okay?" Jason appeared next to her.

"Yeah," Leo said, shaking and wiping snow off himself. "We probably owe that pilot a new helicopter."

Piper frowned. "The fighting's surrounding us," she observed.

Piper was right- the fighting completely surrounded them on all sides. She could hear the noises of combat through the fog.

Behind them was the Wolf House. At one point in its time, it must have been glorious. It was a massive ruin of red and grey stone, rough timber beams. Seeing it in ruins and abandoned gave it a haunting atmosphere.

"Jason!"

Thalia emerged from the fog, bow in hand. Her quiver was almost empty. She was running towards them,not seeing an Earthborn behind, raised club in his hand.

"Watch out!" Rosie warned.

They all rushed forward to help, but Thalia seemed unfazed. She flipped backwards, notching an arrow as she gracefully maneuvered into a kneeling position, shooting an arrow right between the Earthborn's eyes. The Earthborn gasped, melting into clay.

"Holy crap, that was awesome," Rosie muttered in awe.

Thalia shrugged, kicking the pile of clay resentfully. "That was my last one."

"Great shot, though," Leo was staring at Thalia with complete and utter heart eyes.

Thalia ignored him. "Good timing," she said to them, hugging Jason. "The Hunters are holding the perimeter, but we're going to be overrun any minute."

"By Earthborn?" Jason asked.

"And wolves- Lycaon's little minions." She sighed tiredly. "Storm spirits as well."

"What?" Piper exclaimed in shock. "We gave those to Aeolus!"

"The same guy who tried to kill us," Rosie gently reminded her.

Piper's face fell. "Oh. Yeah."

"The monsters are re-forming really fast," Thalia explained. "We took the Wolf House, no problem, but then a snowstorm blew in. Suddenly...monsters were everywhere. I think it's a trap to kill anyone who tries to rescue Hera."

"Where are they keeping her?" Jason asked.

"Inside," Thalia said. "We have no idea how to open the cage...there's only a few minutes until sundown, and Hera said that's when Porphyrion will rise. If we don't free her soon…"

She didn't have to finish; the four of them ran after Thalia into the mansion.

Jason took one step over the threshold and collapsed, Rosie catching him on the way down.

"Dude, no, no! No time for that!" She chided him.

He balanced himself. "I'm sorry. It all came back ..." he winced, as if he were in pain.

"So you have been here?" Piper asked.

Thalia nodded grimly. "We both have," she explained. "This is where our mother left Jason."

"Hera," Jason muttered. "Hera made her give me to the wolves- to Lupa."

"Wait, who's Lupa?" Thalia asked, a confused look on her face.

A loud noise shook the building, making it rumble.

"Can we possibly discuss this later?" Leo asked. "You know, trapped goddesses and all."

They continued further into the building, which was arranged in a U formation. Jason seemed to know exactly where to go. He led them to an outside courtyard with an empty reflecting pool. At the bottom of the pool, two spires with root tendrils cracked through the ground.

One of the spires was bigger in size- it boasted about twenty feet high. Under the mass of tendrils, she could make out the shape of a head, wide shoulders, massive chest and arms. Some sort of creature rising from the earth.

The other spire was smaller- loosely woven. Through the gaps, she could make out the person she really didn't want to see: Hera.

"_I don't understand."_

_The woman pursued her lips. "Rosemary," she said, shaking her head. "You can't stay here anymore."_

"_I know that," she shot back to the woman. She didn't like how the woman talked to her- she talked like she knew Rosie._

"_You have to come with me," the woman insisted._

"_No. Please...just let me leave. I won't hurt any more people, I promise. Just let me go." Rosie was starting to back away from the woman._

_The woman looked straight into Rosie's eyes. "You are a danger..."_

_Rosie bowed her head in shame. The woman was right- she was a monster._

_The woman gripped her arm. "You need to come with me, Rosemary. You have a destiny, one that will never be fulfilled if you don't come with me."_

_Rosie shook her head. "I don't even know who you are, lady. Get away from me."_

"_You don't want to end up like Max, do you?"_

_Rosie jumped back. How did this woman know Max? She...she knew what Rosie did._

_When Rosie said nothing, the woman continued. "Wouldn't you like to see your father again, Rosemary?"_

_Rosie started to pull away from the woman. Her muscles began shaking, which could only mean one thing. She was going to lose it again. "Get-get away from me!"_

"_No! You have to be prepared!"_

"_Stop! Leave me alone!" Rosie pushed the woman, running away from her as soon as the woman let go._

_Rosie ran away from the woman, running as fast as she could. She would glance over her shoulder to make sure the woman couldn't see her. Rosie had to get somewhere far, far away. She didn't want to hurt anyone again._

_She wasn't looking where she was going- she ran into someone, stumbling back. _

_It was a cop, peering down at her with contempt._

"_You lost, missy?" The cop grabbed her._

"_N-no-" She thrashed in the cop's arms, needing to get away. The rumbling was getting stronger, and she didn't know how to stop it. "Let me go!"_

"_Hey, kid, calm down!"_

_Her breathing hitched, her fists clenched. She took her fist, punching the cop in the face._

_Rosie yelled out in pain, cradling her fist. The cop staggered back, wincing and groaning. "Hey!"_

_She placed her hands on her knees._

_The cop grabbed her again. "I ought to have you arrested-"_

"_Yes. Do that."_

_A chill ran down Rosie's body, realizing the woman had found her again. _

_The cop glared at the woman. "Is she yours?"_

_She shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. She's yours now.."_

_The cop got a dazed look in his eyes. "Mine now…"_

_Rosie sunk in the cop's arms._

"_Listen to me," the woman said in a soft yet commanding. "You are to take Rosemary Reiger to your detention center for a week- a full week. Do you understand?"_

"_Detention center...a week…" The cop slowly nodded. "Yes…"_

"_After a full week, you are to enroll Rosemary in the Wilderness School located in Nevada. She has no family, no home- she must end up there. Do you understand?"_

_The cop robotically nodded. "Yes. Rosemary will attend the Wilderness School."_

_Rosie was trapped- the cop slowly started pulling her away._

_She glanced back once more at the woman. The woman smiled cruelly at her._

"_We'll meet again, Rosemary. You'll thank me for this."_

Leo dropped into the pool, approaching Hera. Rosie stood behind him cautiously. "_Hola_, Tía. Little bit of trouble?"

"Leo Valdez," Hera snapped venomously. "Stop looking at me with those tinkering eyes; just get me out of here!"

Rosie stood side by side with Leo. "Someone's reeking of desperation," she said to Leo.

Hera laser focused onto Rosie. "Rosemary Reiger," she greeted coldly. "I have to say, I liked it better when you were a smelly, meek thirteen-year-old."

"And I have to say," Rosie fired back. "That I like it better when you're not a meddlesome goddess, and yet, here we are."

"Ooh, burn," Leo fist bumped her. Coming from a Fire Guy, that meant a lot.

"Make anything collapse lately?" Hera jeered.

Rosie glared at her. "Try to kidnap any children lately?"

"We tried everything we could think of to open it," Thalia told them, interrupting their argument. "Personally, if it were up to me, I'd just leave her there."

"Thalia Grace!" Hera snapped furiously. "You're going to regret ever saying that."

"Oh, shut it!" Thalia yelled. "You've been nothing but a pain in the ass to every child of Zeus. You sent a bunch of intestinally challenged cows to my friend Annabeth-"

Hera rolled her eyes. "She was being disrespectful."

"You dropped a statue on my legs."

"How many times must we discuss this, Thalia, that was an accident-"

"You took my brother!" Thalia's voice cracked. "You ruined our lives. If it were up to me, I'd leave you for Gaea."

"Thalia," Jason spoke gently. "I get it. But now isn't the time. Go- your Hunters need you."

Thalia nodded, jaw clenched. "For you, Jason. But in my opinion...she's not worth saving."

Thalia stormed out of the building.

Rosie turned to Hera with raised eyebrows. "Intestinally challenged cows? Really? Even for you, that's low."

"Be _quiet_, Rosemary. Leo, work faster!" Hera looked at Jason. "Jason- I am proud of how smart you are. I choose my champions well, don't I?"

"I am not your champion," Jason growled. "I'm only helping you because you're better than the alternative."

"Guys," Piper cut in. "Can we talk more about that thing?" She pointed to the other spire, which seemed to be even taller.

"That, Piper McLean," Hera said. "Is the king of giants being reborn."

"Oh...gross." Piper went pale.

"I agree. It's Porphyrion. Gaea needs a great deal of power to raise him again- she's been using my power. For weeks, I've been diminishing in power to help him thrive."

"So like a heat lamp?" Leo said seriously.

She glared at him. "Joke all you want, Leo, but you won't be laughing at sundown. The giant will be awake by then. I will have a choice: marry him, or be consumed by the earth. I cannot and will not marry him. We will be destroyed, dead, and Gaea will awaken."

Leo shook his head. "There's got to be another solution...can't we blow it up?"

Hera laughed. "Yeah, like you have the power to do that without me. Might as well try to destroy a mountain."

Jason tensed. "Been there, done that."

"Just let me out!" Hera whined.

"Leo, can you do it?" Jason asked.

Leo scratched his head. "I have no clue ...if she's a goddess, why hasn't she just bailed herself out?"

"_Think_, Leo Valdez!" Hera snapped. "I picked you for your brain, after all. Once trapped, a god's power is useless. Your father trapped me in a golden chair once...it was _infuriating_. I had to _beg_ him to release me, which he only did after I apologized for throwing him off Olympus."

"Sounds fair to me," Leo grumbled.

Hera narrowed her eyes at him. "I've watched you your entire life, Leo. I know you can destroy this abomination."

"Hey, lady, this isn't a machine! I do machines…" Leo trailed off, his face suddenly lighting up. Rosie knew that look: he had an idea. "Wait! I think I have something. Rosie, Piper...I'm going to need your help. And time- I could use some time."

A line of the prophecy came back to her: _The horse, forge, and dove shall break the cage._

The air suddenly dropped twenty degrees; Rosie could see her breath in the air. Frost started coating the walls of the Wolf House. Venti rushed into the courtyard, venti that were shaped like horses, manes crackling with lighting. Behind them- red-eyed wolves and six armed Earthborn.

Piper moved fastest, drawing her dagger out. Jason grabbed a plank off the pool floor, wielding it over his head. Rosie drew her knife and held it out. Leo panickingly rummaged through his belt, pulling out...breath mints. He reddened, putting them back quickly and replacing it with a hammer. Rosie wanted to laugh, even though it was clearly a poor time to do so.

One of the wolves moved forward. The wolf was dragging a human-sized statue by the leg. Once it reached the edge of the pool, the wolf dropped the statue for them to see it. It was Thalia, frozen with an expression of complete shock.

"Thalia!" Jason tried racing forward, only to be pulled back by his friends.

"Show yourself!" Jason screamed, his body cracking with electricity. "I'll kill you."

Rosie heard laughter- a girl's laugh, no doubt. Rosie tensed as the figure emerged: a beautiful yet chilling girl in a snowy white dress, a silver crown on top of her black hair. The girl looked at them with an icy expression. It was Leo's disgruntled prom date- Khione.

"Ah, _bon soir, mes amis,_" Khione said, giving them a cold smile. "I'm afraid time is the one thing you do not have."

"What have you done, Khione?" Jason demanded. It was the angriest Rosie had ever seen him- her body tingled with the impulse to duck.

"Relax, Jason Grace. It's not like your sister is dead. She will make a fine toy, however. Perhaps we'll defrost the hunters and let the wolves hunt them for fun. Let them be the prey for once."

The wolves snarled.

"_Oui_, my dears. Your sister almost killed their king. Lycaon is off doing god knows what, but his little minions have joined us. Porphyrion will arise, and we shall rule."

"D-lister!" Hera yelled. Despite how much she hated Hera, Rosie wanted to commend her for that insult. "You aren't worthy to pour my wine, much less rule the world."

"Really wish that cage was soundproof," Khione rolled her eyes. "Been wanting to shut her up for millennia."

Khione waved her hand, and Hera's cage was suddenly encrusted with ice.

"Much better," Khione decided. "So...now demigod death-"

"You tricked Hera," Jason said. "You gave Zeus the idea of closing Olympus."

The goddess smiled. "Of course. I am the snow goddess, after all- my voice is quiet and gentle, and very cold...Compelling. It's compelling. I can compel the gods to do certain things...like ordering Aeolus to kill demigods. I know I will be well rewarded for it when Gaea's sons arise."

"You had your chance to kill us in Quebec," Rosie noted. "Why didn't you just bite the bullet and do it?"

"Like I can kill visitors in my father's house. Haven't you heard of manners, Madame Reiger? I would've loved to, of course. But my father granted you safe passage. My father is a fearful fool of the gods. When my new masters awaken, I will dispose of my father and take his throne. Besides, I knew your quest was suicidal. To be honest, I fully expected you to fail."

"You knocked our dragon out of the sky to do that," Leo snarled. "You're going to pay for that!"

"You kept Enceladus informed about us," Piper snapped. "We've been plagued by snowstorms all the time on our quest."

Khione smiled. "We're all so synced, aren't we? I asked Lycaon to track you all down so your friend Jason could die here. You see, Jason Grace, spilling your blood here will taint it for generations. Your demigod peers will be furious, especially when they find the bodies of your three friends from Camp Half-Blood. They'll believe the Greeks worked with the Giants."

She didn't know what Khione was talking about. By the looks of it, neither did Piper and Leo. Jason, however, had a look of clarity and understanding on his face.

"You'll pit demigods against demigods," Jason said.

"Simple, isn't it?" Khione laughed.

"Why, Khione?" Piper pleaded. "You don't have to do this; the world will be torn apart. The giants will destroy everything. Call it off!"

"Your powers are improving, sweet girl. Too bad I can't be swayed by them. We wind gods are creatures of chaos! I'll overthrow Aeolus and let the storms run free! I don't care about the mortal world- they never cared about me. Humans and their talk of global warming- bah! When we retake the ancient places, I'll cover Acropolis with snow."

"Ancient places-that's what Enceladus meant, isn't it? About destroying the roots of the gods? He means Greece." Leo's eyes widened.

"I know you want to join me, Son of Hephaestus." Khione smiled at him. "I know you find me attractive…reject the destiny the Fates have given you. Join me. Be my champion."

Leo staggered back, stunned. For a second, Rosie was worried. She was about to promise Leo that she would find Kelsey Carmichael for him, so long as he didn't join Khione.

Before she could, Leo doubled over, laughing. "Ha, good one. Join you- yeah, right. Until you get bored of me and turn me into a Leosicle. Nobody messes with our dragon and gets away with it. I was so wrong about you being hot."

Rosie liked how he referred to Festus as their dragon- not just his. She missed that hunk of metal.

Khione's eyes flashed murderously. "Hot? How dare you? I am not hot, Leo Valdez. I am cold- so very cold."

She pointed at the demigods, a wintry slush heading their way. Leo held up his hands, a wall of fire roaring up in front of them. It met the snow, dissolving into a steamy cloud.

Leo grinned triumphantly. "See, lady, that's what happens to snow in Texas. It-freaking-melts."

Rosie and Piper exchanges grins.

Jason hefted his icy wooden plank up. "Guys…" he started.

He didn't need to continue the thought. With one final look, the four of them charged.

**A/N: as this story begins to wrap up, I'm wondering...would people want to see a MoA continuation? let me know!**


	28. Heroes

She quickly found out that wolves can swim.

Maybe she should've paid more attention at Wilderness- maybe then she would've known that wolves can swim.

The battle quickly escalated- the four of them splitting up. Jason headed straight for the venti, while Piper went for the Earthborn. Rosie ran up to the wolves, as Leo took Khione head on.

The wolves had surrounded her, and for a good second, she went into panic mode. She felt like she was in over her head and about to be wolf dinner.

That was when she made the plumbing system explode- she still didn't know how that happened. Why did an abandoned mansion have underground plumbing?

"You made the pipes explode!" Jason yelled, riding past her on what appeared to be a storm spirit.

In spite of everything, she laughed. "Made pipes explode," she laughed to herself, thinking of Piper. "My bad!"

"Seriously, Freckles?!" Leo exclaimed, running past her, his flames extinguished.

"Sorry!"

The water was able to cause some of the wolves to get discouraged and run away, but it didn't really help. She tried to rely on her dagger after that, slashing and charging wolves left and right. She tried to get into Jason's fighter mindset.

Jason was absolutely pulverizing the storm spirits, slashing into them with electricity and his plank. Piper was charmspeaking Earthborn, making them attack one another instead of her. Leo was one of the few reasons they hadn't been defeated yet. Leo was ablaze with orange flames, dodging Khione's icy attacks and sending flames after her

The next time Rosie turned around, she saw Leo quickly bearing down on Khione, who just snarled back at him.

"You're too late, _mes amis_," She sneered. "The king is awake!"

Leo set one of his hammers ablaze, throwing it at Khione. Khione dissolved into a steaming mound of snow.

Rosie and Piper walked up to Jason, who was still sitting on a horse-shaped storm spirit.

"Nice horse," Piper told him with a smirk.

Rosie rolled her eyes. "Show-off."

The four of them turned to see the ice on Hera's cage melting. The goddess shot them a look. "Don't mind me just dying over here!"

Rosie groaned, as the four of them headed back to Hera's cage. She jolted back in surprise, realizing Hera was sinking into the ground, rock rising up her body like water.

Leo tilted his head in confusion. "Tía, are you shrinking?"

"No, fool! The earth is claiming me, you have to hurry! The giant is awakening; we don't have time!"

"Okay, okay!" Leo exclaimed, kneeling next to the cage. "Pipes, I need you to talk to the cage."

"Sorry, what?"

"Talk to it! Convince Gaea to sleep. Lull her into a daze. Slow her down." He turned and looked at Rosie. "Freckles, I'm going to need some of that earth shaking. Preferably channeled into the cage."

She had to be hearing him wrong. "_What_?"

Leo was rummaging in his belt, looking for something. "That rumbling energy you have? The earthquake thingy you do? You need to give it to the cage, maybe make some of these tendrils crack." He pulled out a circular saw from his belt.

She felt her chest tighten up- she couldn't do that. It wasn't possible to control the earthquakes, directing it towards one thing. Her earthquakes were uncontrollable and deadly. "Leo, it doesn't work like that-"

Leo groaned. "Ugh, does anyone have an outlet?"

Jason's horse neighed, shaking its mane.

Jason paused. "Huh- I think he does."

Leo raised his eyebrows, but handed the cord over to the horse, who whipped it into his mane. Leo's saw whirred to life.

"Sweet!" Leo cried. "Your horse is AC equipped!"

_Crack._

On the other side of the pool, Porphyrion's spire crumbled, snapping into half. It exploded, wood shards and rocks showering down on them.

The giant began to rise from the earth.

"Oh _shit…._" Leo muttered.

Oh shit was right- Porphyrion looked like he could eat Enceladus for lunch. He seemed to be five times bigger, and looked to be stronger. His presence was commanding, like he had his own gravitational field. The giant king had the same physical appearance as Enceladus- except his hair was decorated with bloody weapons, trophies from past battles won. When Pophyrion opened his eyes, she realized he had no pupils, only the whites of her eyes.

Rosie's jaw dropped at some point- she could believe how enormous Porphyrion was. He could easily crush them like bugs.

Was Jason talking? She couldn't really focus on anything but the _giant _in front of them.

"Leo!" Jason cried.

Leo blinked, dazed. "Wha-oh, right! On it!" He went back to sawing.

"You guys work!" Jason told them. "I've got this!"

"What do you mean 'I've got this'?!" Rosie exclaimed. She was pretty sure she heard Jason whimpering as Porphyrion rose.

"Jason, you can't seriously-" Piper began.

"Fight him? I have no choice," Jason said, approaching Porphyrion.

The giant bellowed. "Hello Son of Jupiter! I am Porphyrion, king of giants, Son of Gaea. In olden times, I rose from Tartarus, the abyss of my father, to challenge the gods. To start the war, I stole Zeus's queen. Hi, Hera!"

"My husband will destroy you again, monster!" Hera yelled.

"But he didn't, my dear! Zeus wasn't powerful enough to kill me the first time. He had to rely on a puny demigod to help, and even then, we almost won. This time? We will complete what we started. Gaea is waking! She has provisioned us with many fine servants. Our armies will shake the earth- we will destroy you at the roots."

"Could use a little help here!" Leo exclaimed over the saw's noise at Piper and Rosie, who felt entranced by Porphyrion.

"Right! Sorry...uh, boy...I'm tired. Aren't you tired, Gaea?" Piper said. "Nice night for a loonnngggg nap."

The tendrils seemed to be responding positively to Piper's voice, slightly pulling back into the earth.

"Feel free to jump in anytime, Freckles."

"I can't ...the earthquakes only happen when...I lose control. Become angry," she told Leo.

"So do the opposite!" Leo yelled over his saw.

"What?"

"You're getting sleepy…" Piper muttered.

"Okay, you are _scary good _at that," Rosie told Piper, blinking away the drowsiness.

"Rosie, listen," Leo stopped the saw for a second. "You can control it. You say it only happens when you're angry and upset? Try the opposite- think of something happy."

"What?"

"Yes, that might work!" Piper exclaimed. "Watch, we can take turns."

"I don't even know if I can just do it to the cage. I may kill all of us."

"Don't let her do it!" Hera cried. "She's dangerous!"

"Shut up!" Piper and Leo said in unison.

Piper grabbed Rosie's hand, placing it on the root tendril. "Close your eyes," she commanded.

Rosie obliged.

"Tell me a story, Rosie," she said. "A really good memory."

Rosie thought about it. She felt a tugging at her lips. "That time...that time Leo fell asleep in history class and we drew on his face." She drew a mustache on him, while Piper bombarded him with smiley faces.

"That was _you guys_?!"

Piper laughed. "I remember that- good, Rosie, another one."

She felt a warmth throughout her body, thinking of her and friends. She thought about all the good times they had. She really loved them.

"The continuing saga of us versus the ants that invaded our room," Rosie smiled at the thought of her and Piper screaming and cowering in the corner of their room.

"Gross!" Piper said, laughing. "That was-wait, it's working, Rosie! Keep going!"

Rosie could feel it working- the tendrils under her fingertips were slowly but surely cracking. She kept her eyes closed, another memory making her laugh. "Jason headbutting a cyclops in the groin."

Piper giggled. "Aeolus giving you and Leo stage makeup."

Leo snickered. "Festus trying to kill Rosie."

Hera rolled her eyes. "I do not get this humor."

Rosie was shaking with laughter, the rumbling becoming more powerful, and crazy enough, staying contained in the tendrils of Hera's cage.

Rosie almost forgot that Jason was fighting with Pophyrion- after all, her eyes were closed and she was in her own headspace, trying to control her power.

The ruins suddenly shook, and Rosie opened her eyes, wondering if she had done that. She realized that Pophyrion was wielding a spear, and all the monsters- Earthborn, wolves, venti- had reformed.

Leo cursed. "That's really what we need...more enemies!"

"Hurry!" Hera snarled.

"Really?! That totally didn't occur to me!"

Rosie focused harder, feeling the earth move beneath her feet. She could feel the roots cracking...problem was, it wasn't strong enough.

"Go to sleep, cage," Piper commanded. "Yes, I'm talking to a nice, sleepy cage. No, it isn't weird at all."

"So, child of Zeus!" Pophyrion yelled. "I have finished my boasting. It's your turn. What were you saying about destroying me?"

Jason levitated off the ground, the wind fiercely whipping around him.

"I'm the son of Jupiter!" Jason yelled, his intense blue eyes staring down the giant. "I'm a child of Rome, consul to demigods, praetor of the First Legion."

Piper frowned. "What is he talking about?"

"I slew the Trojan sea monster," he continued. "I toppled the black throne of Kronos, and destroyed the Titan Krios with my own hands. And now I'm going to destroy you, Porphyrion, and feed you to your own wolves."

"Wow, dude, you've been eating red meat?" Leo muttered under his breath.

Jason launched himself at Porphyrion, climbing all over him.

Piper widened her eyes, watching and flinching when lighting hit Jason, blasting him out of the air.

"Pipes," Rosie told her.

Piper looked at her, eyes glassy.

"When we found out Jason tried to eat a stapler when he was two."

Piper gave a weak smile, grabbing back onto the cage. "You want to _sleep_. You need to _rest_."

"I'm almost there…" Leo muttered, his face fixed and determined.

"You want to play with lightning, Jason Grace? You forget so quickly; I am the bane of Zeus. I was created to destroy your father, which means I know exactly what will kill you."

"Got it!" Leo yelled triumphantly.

The three of them fell back from the cage as it began to crumble. The tendrils dissolved into dust, the earth around Hera disintegrating. As soon as the cage broke, Rosie became lightheaded, feeling her power sucked out of her.

Hera started glowing, rapidly growing in size. She threw off her black robes to reveal an elegant white gown, a golden crown on top of her long black hair.

"Yes!" Hera cried. "Time for my revenge."

Porphyrion glowered at Jason, shooting him one final look. He slammed his spear against the earth, disappearing into the ground. The monsters left behind started to panic.

Hera was glowing brighter. "Cover your eyes, my heroes!"

Rosie felt herself tackled to the ground, as she, Piper, and Leo fell into a heap, shutting their eyes tightly.

She didn't open her eyes again until she heard Piper screaming.

She warily opened them, seeing the aftereffects of Hera's power. Signs of battle had completely disappeared- as did the signs of winter. Every single monster was gone, and the Hunters had been completely revived.

"What...what happened?" She asked Leo.

He grimaced. "Jason."

Piper and Thalia were sitting next to an unconscious Jason, as Hera loomed over them in her simple black robes again.

"Jason!" Piper yelled, shaking his body.

"It's no use," Hera said, sounding bored.

Rosie and Leo ran over to join them, kneeling by Jason.

Thalia glared at Hera. "Don't just sit there, _do something_!"

"Thalia, don't address me like that-"

"Fix him!"

Hera's eyes flickered dangerously. "I warned everyone! Why would I hurt him? He was my champion-"

"If he's your champion, why can't you bring him back?" Rosie wondered aloud.

"I told everyone to close their eyes when I revealed my true form," Hera snapped, ignoring her.

"If true form is bad, why did you do it?" Leo asked.

"To help you, fool! I became pure energy so I could destroy the monsters and restore this place. I even saved some to release those miserable Hunters."

"You've killed him!" Thalia snapped.

Leo groaned. "That's what the prophecy meant, isn't it? Death unleash, through Hera's rage. Come on, Tía, you're a goddess. Do some voodoo magic to bring him back!"

Rosie nodded vigorously. "Yes, voodoo magic, I like the sound of that, do that!"

Hera rolled her eyes. "I can't just-"

"He's breathing!" Piper cried, grabbing Jason's face.

Hera laughed. "Impossible, Daughter Of Aphrodite. No mortal has ever-"

"_Jason_," Piper spoke powerfully. "Wake up. Listen to me; you can do this. Come back, Jason."

"Healing isn't a power of Aphrodite," Hera said jeeringly. "For goodness sakes, I can't even fix him. He's dead-"

"Jason," Piper commanded. "Wake up _now_."

Jason gasped, and his eyes flew open.

"He's alive!" Rosie cried. She finally had her Frankenstein moment; she made a note to tell Annabeth about it later.

"What-What happened?" Jason managed to get out.

"That's impossible!" Hera exclaimed.

Piper threw herself into Jason's arms, as Jason winced.

"Ouch, Piper," he smiled. "Crushing me."

She blushed, letting go. "Sorry."

Thalia grabbed Jason's hand. "How do you feel?"

"Hot," he mumbled. "Dry-dry mouth. I saw...something really terrible."

"Hera," Thalia grumbled. "That was Hera."

"Enough, Thalia Grace," the goddess started. "I will turn you into an anteater-"

"Stop it! Both of you!" Piper yelled.

They both shut up, Rosie shooting her best friend an approving look.

They helped Jason to his feet, giving him the last of their nectar.

"Dude," Leo said. "You really had us there for a second. I take it back; death is so much more overplayed than amnesia."

"No offense," Rosie told Jason. "But if you ever do that again, I might actually kick your ass."

He smiled weakly. "You? Kick my ass?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't underestimate me," she said, making karate chops with her hands.

Piper put an arm around her. "I will help her kick your ass."

Piper turned around, facing Thalia and Hera. "Now- you two. Hera-I mean, Your Majesty...we couldn't have rescued you without Thalia and her hunters helping us. Thalia, Hera is the reason you have your brother again- we wouldn't even know Jason without Hera. You two make nice, okay?"

Thalia begrudgingly nodded. "I admire your spirit, Piper."

"I see your point, Daughter of Aphrodite," Hera admitted. "You may have wondered, Piper McLean, why I chose you for this quest. I must admit, until now...I wasn't sure. Now I know: you're strong. Stronger than I realized. You will do quite well with your destiny apart of the Eight."

Piper reddened, as Leo stepped forward.

"So, that Porphyrion guy...I'm assuming he didn't just conveniently melt and die?" He said.

"No," Hera replied. "You all have prevented Gaea from waking...for right now. We have bought time. Porphyrion, however, has risen. He simply ran away, knowing he wouldn't survive here-"

"Where?" Jason asked. "Where did he go?"

Hera didn't answer, her face becoming stormy. Rosie remembered how Porphyrion talked about killing the Olympians by their roots- Greece.

"Annabeth...I need to tell Annabeth what happened here," Thalia said. Judging by her grim expression, she probably reached the same conclusion as Rosie.

"Thalia." Jason grabbed her hand. "We didn't get a chance to talk about this place-"

"I know. I lost you here once...but we'll meet again soon. Back at Camp. I promise." She looked at Hera. "You will make sure they get back to camp safety, right? It's the least you can do."

"You insipid girl-"

"Queen Hera," Piper interrupted.

"Fine. Of course. Just off with you Hunters!"

Piper and Jason walked over to say goodbyes to the Hunters and Thalia, leaving Rosie and Leo off to the side with Hera.

Leo broke the awkward silence. "How about a hug for the road, Tía?"

"No."

"Fair enough." He shrugged. "A thank you would suffice."

"Leo Valdez, if you knew what I knew, you wouldn't be so cocky. Yes, you have an integral part in the Great Prophecy. You will be a crucial cog in the Eight; the control center, if you will. With that comes a terrible destiny. You will have a terrible choice to make, one that will hurt you unbelievably."

Leo glanced at Rosie worriedly. "Hey, lady, maybe back off?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Hera snapped. She looked at Rosie. "As for you, Ms. Reiger-"

"Stop."

"You are powerful, but unpredictable. Dangerous."

"I don't want to hear it," Rosie snapped. "I know what your family did to mine. Save it."

Hera's eyes glinted dangerously. "You think I ruined your life-that my family ruined your life. No, child, I was simply protecting you from yourself. You, like Leo, have a choice, Rosemary: destroy yourself or destroy your friends. I am terrified you will make the wrong choice. Powerful, yes...but also weak. Earthquakes, after all, cause faltering foundations. Cracks in the surface; places to slip up and become compromised."

Rosie felt her knees waver, as if she was going to faint.

"That's enough," Leo growled at her, standing in front of Rosie protectively.

What did Hera mean? She wanted to open her mouth to ask, but couldn't.

Thankfully, Piper and Jason walked back over, diffusing the tension with their presence.

"Jason Grace. My champion." Hera smiled. "As for you, you were given into my service for your destiny."

Jason scowled. "You forced my mother do that. You hated the fact that Zeus had two children with my mom- Knowing he had fallen for her twice." Rosie thought of her father. "I was the price you demanded for leaving the rest of my family alone."

"It was the right choice, Jason," Hera insisted. "It has never happened before- one Greek child and one Roman child. You had to be separated from Thalia. All demigods of your kind start their journey here."

"Of his kind?" Piper asked.

"Roman," Jason answered. "Roman demigods are left here. We meet Lupa, the She-Wolf goddess who raised Romulus and Remus."

She thought of Percy Jackson, and the dream she had. No. It wasn't possible…

Hera nodded. "And if you are strong enough? You live."

Leo looked confused. "What happened after that, though? Jason never made it to camp."

"Not to Camp Half-Blood, no," Hera agreed.

That confirmed Rosie's suspicions.

"Somewhere else for demigods?" Piper asked. "But where?"

"The memories are coming back...I can't remember the location, though. You're not going to tell me, are you?" Jason said.

"No," Hera shook her head. "That is part of your destiny, my champion. The way of the Fates. You must find your own way. But when you do...you will unite two great powers. You will give us hope against Gaea."

"I don't understand how we're supposed to help you when you're withholding information," Jason snapped.

"Like I said, little hero," Hera said. "You must forge your own path. I must say...you four have impressed me. But it's only the beginning. You must go back to Camp Half Blood for the next phase."

"I'm guessing we walk home? Considering you destroyed my storm spirit horse and all," Jason said.

"I did not destroy that one, Jason. Storm spirits are creatures of chaos. You will see him again, I suppose… For now, I can help you return home. Goodbye for now, heroes."

She waved her hand, and suddenly everything turned upside down.

When she could see straight again, they were back at camp in the dining pavilion. They were standing on Aphrodite's cabin table, in the middle of dinner.

She had no idea what Hera had done to get them back to Camp, but whatever it was- it _sucked._ Leo looked green as he stumbled on the table, falling face-first into someone's pizza. Rosie felt sick; everything was spinning. She clumsily jumped off the table, pushing through some kids and running over to the nearest bronze brazier, throwing up in it. Another reason to hate Hera.

"Oh, geez!" Piper ran off the table and over to Rosie, holding her hair back.

Jason stood on the table, trying to help Leo up.

"I'm gonna be sick," Leo moaned.

"Already am," Rosie muttered from the brazier, as Piper rubbed her back.

"Jason?" Chiron galloped forward, a flabbergasted look on his face.

Everyone was staring at them, shocked and also slightly disgusted.

"Uh, hi, everyone," Jason said sheepishly. "We're back."


	29. World's Worst Exchange Program

Everyone started bombarding them with questions. However, Chiron quickly realized that the four of them were sleep deprived and could hardly stand up, so he sent them off to bed.

"Mattresses, guys," Piper said gleefully as they walked towards the cabin. "Real mattresses."

Rosie sleepily giggled at how happy this was making her.

Jason smiled, shrugging. "I don't know. I'm gonna miss sleeping near you guys."

"I'm not," Leo said. "Rosie snores."

"I do _not_-"

"Yes you do," Jason and Piper said in unison.

"Wow. I went on a quest with a whole bunch of traitors."

It felt good- strolling through Camp, not worrying about the next thing. She was trying to enjoy it- she knew it wasn't going to last long.

Jason shrugged. "I don't know...it's a little lonely in the cabin. Back me up, Rosie."

"The traitor makes a good point," she admitted. "My cabin gives me the heebie-jeebies. But I sure will enjoy the heebie-jeebie mattress tonight." She was exhausted; she couldn't wait to sleep.

Piper slung an arm around Leo. "This is our stop," she said, gesturing towards cabin 9 and 10.

"No fair," Rosie whined groggily. "You guys are so much closer to your cabins."

Leo clapped Jason on the back and ruffled Rosie's hair. "Night, guys," he said. "Glad we didn't die- let's keep that up!"

Jason laughed. "Night, Leo."

"See ya, Fire Guy," Rosie waved.

Before the two of them walked away, Jason grabbed Piper by her sweatshirt and pulled her closer.

"Goodnight, you cute sleepyhead," he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Oh my god, he is _so _flirting with you," Rosie said in an annoyingly high-pitched sarcastic voice.

Piper pushed her, laughing. "Shut up. Goodnight, you guys. See you tomorrow."

"What, no goodnight kiss for me?" Leo asked Jason, grinning.

Piper rolled her eyes, dragging Leo away by his ear. "Come on," she said.

Jason smirked. "And then there were two."

"Carry me, Superman?"

Jason shook his head, laughing. "It's not that far, come on!"

She sleepily stumbled along until she saw the familiar cabin 3.

"Alright well, goodnight, Jason," she said, curling into bed.

"Rosie?"

"Mmm?"

"That's not your bed."

"It's not?"

"It's a bush."

"Oh...man, you're right." She was lying on top of the hydrangea bush outside of Cabin 3.

He lent her a hand, and she stood up, groaning. He helped her up the stairs, Rosie pausing at the top.

"Jason."

"Yeah?"

She shifted, feeling uncomfortable. "I..I kind of wish we were still on the quest."

He tilted his head in confusion. "You do?"

Rosie pushed through the exhaustion her mind felt. "We had a set goal...everything was laid out before us. But that wasn't even it ...it was only the start. And I don't...I don't...am I making sense?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah. Now everything is ...unknown. Like the Great Prophecy."

She nodded. "The Eight."

"Gaea."

"Percy Jackson."

Jason said nothing to this, just weakly nodded.

"I mean…" she sighed. "Part of me thought we would see him at the Wolf House. An-an exchange; Hera for Percy."

"Rosie…"

"You ended up at camp with no memory...after training with those wolves. And- I don't know- this dream I had…Percy started his journey with the wolves- like you did. I would think..." she trailed off, the pieces coming together.

Jason looked at her expectantly.

"Oh god. He doesn't know who he is, does he? Hera stole his memories…" she muttered. A two way exchange.

Jason nodded. "I think we were both forced to be apart of the world's worst exchange program."

"So...he's wherever you came from...a camp. And with no memory."

"Yeah."

"Do you know where that is?"

Jason tensed. "It's coming back slowly," he said.

She had a foreboding feeling that Percy was apart of the Eight. And she couldn't stop having a nagging feeling that two Poseidon children apart of the same prophecy wasn't great.

She thought of the choice Hera told her she would have to make. Was Percy involved in that?

She gulped. Too many unanswered questions. "World's worst exchange program, indeed."

"Yep."

She leaned against the doorframe. "I guess I should go to bed…" Her mind felt numb; she needed rest.

"Rosie."

"Yeah?"

A smile tugged at Jason's lips. "You have a scar forming," he said, pointing above her eyebrow.

She gingerly pressed her fingers onto her face, feeling a scar on it. It was probably from the fight back on Mount Diablo.

She smiled back. "Guess I'll have a wicked scar story, too."

"Goodnight, Rosie."

"Night, Jason."

She had never slept better in her life. She woke up feeling energized and rejuvenated. She donned on an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, and enjoyed breakfast with her friends. They laughed and talked, especially discussing Piper recently overthrowing Drew from her throne. Halfway through the meal, she stood up, knowing that she needed to talk to someone.

"Where are you going?" Leo asked, muffled by the mouthful of pancakes he was chewing.

She smiled at her friends. "I'll be back later."

Piper raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you trying to get out of morning activities?"

"Sounds like something I'd do, but no. I'll explain later. See you guys."

Rosie walked to the Big House, hoping that Chiron would have a second to talk to her.

She found Chiron sitting in his wheelchair, reading a book. He looked up at her like he was expecting her this whole time.

He smiled, taking off his reading glasses. "Rosie- I'd figured you'd be coming to find me."

"You immortal people are smart."

He laughed. "Please, sit," he said, gesturing to the coach. "I myself would like to hear about the quest."

She sat down across from him, placing her hands on her lap. She shrugged. "I mean, we did it."

"You sound...unsatisfied."

Man- Chiron was really good.

"I'm...unsettled, maybe? We'll go with unsettled."

Chiron said nothing, simply waiting for her to speak up.

She sighed. "I guess this Big Three kid thing was a little more than I bargained for."

"That's perfectly understandable. It's a title that many don't want to wear."

She nodded. "Yeah- exactly. I pushed it away for a lot of the quest. I was really ashamed for a while."

"Ashamed."

"I want to know how to use them," she spoke confidently. "My powers, I mean. I can't let them...I can't lose control."

Chiron looked confused. "Lose control, dear? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Earthquakes." Chiron's eyes widened. "I'm talking about earthquakes."

"Earthquakes? But how could it-"

"I caused a 6.4 magnitude one back in Des Moines."

"Unbelievable," Chiron muttered to himself, placing a hand on his chin. "I mean, some Poseidon children possess it to a degree, but 6.4…"

She grimaced. "I know. It can be really bad."

Chiron frowned. "Then control you must, my dear. We shall train you the best we can. A power like that isn't to be played with."

_Earthquakes, after all, cause faltering foundations._

_Cracks in the surface._

_Places to slip up and become compromised._

She pushed away Hera's words; she wasn't going to be manipulated. "One more thing-Sorry. I...I used to have a brother."

"A brother? Really?"

She nodded, launching into the story about Max, ending with what happened at Lamia's slaughterhouse.

Maybe she was imagining it- but by the time she finished with the story, Chiron looked worried. Really worried.

"Chiron?"

Chiron nodded stiffly. "Right. Rosie, um...the Mist can be a powerful tool of manipulation. It's possible Lamia sensed your weakness and used it against you."

He didn't sound convinced, and neither was Rosie.

"That being said...you could become a great liability if you're so susceptible to Mist attacks."

"Oh. Well. That...sucks."

Chiron looked thoughtfully. "Rosie...there's something I usually do with children of the Big Three. I actually did with Thalia Grace. I never got the chance to with Percy...it is possible to learn how to control the Mist."

She winced. "Like what Hera did to Jason?"

"Not to that extent, no. But...learning Mist control would allow you to block out these attacks and perhaps use the Mist to your own advantage. I'd like to teach you how to do it, if you're so willing."

"Oh. Wow. That's possible?" She kind of liked the sound of that...being more in control. Being allowed to see things for herself.

"Very."

"I'm in."

Chiron nodded. "Excellent. We'll start soon. I'm afraid the worst is to come, Rosie."

"Oh." That didn't sound great.

"But I think I can prepare you for it."

She stood, shaking. "Okay. Thank you."

He nodded. "Be well, Rosie."

She walked out of the Big House, her mind in a fog. Chiron's expressions had worried her.

"Hey!"

She hadn't been paying attention to where she was walking- she walked right into Leo.

"Oh, sorry! Hey, what's going on?"

Leo looked excited- she could tell by him bouncing on his heels. "I'm actually glad I ran into you. Can you find Piper and Jason for me?"

"What am I, your messenger?" She joked.

"It's important, Freckles! I have to show you guys something! Five minutes, meet me at the edge of the woods!" He exclaimed, running off.

"That totally doesn't sound like a serial killer!" She called out after him.

So, she went looking for Jason and Piper.

She found them together in the same place- of course. They were sitting on the basketball court, heads bent together in conversation.

"So Leo's being a creep and wants us to meet him in the woods- Ooh, sorry, am I interrupting a moment?"

She regretted saying it immediately. As soon as she saw Piper's face, she knew something tense was occurring.

Jason gave her a weak smile. "Sorry, what about Leo?"

"He says he has something to show us in the woods." She was still staring at the both of them, wondering what was going on with them.

Jason nodded, standing. "Let's go, then," he said, walking away.

Rosie fell in step with Piper as she stood. "Are you okay?" She asked, peering at Piper's face with concern.

She curtly shook her head. "Later."

Since Piper didn't want to talk about it, Rosie tried to distract her with jokes, as Leo led them, Chiron, and a group of Hephaestus campers into the woods.

"Fifty bucks says this is some bizarre prank of his."

Piper smiled weakly. "Twenty bucks says we don't leave the woods alive."

"Deal."

Leo led them to a dead end, a limestone cliff standing tall behind a stream. He grinned at the group. "Prepared to be wowed," he said. His hand caught on fire, and he set it against the door of the cave.

The Hephaestus campers gasped.

"Leo!" Nyssa gasped. "You're a fire user!"

"Fire guy," Rosie muttered.

"Thanks Nyssa," He said, pushing against the door.

With a groan, the stone door swung open. Everyone leaned forward with a gasp.

Leo grinned. "Welcome to Bunker Nine."

Bunker Nine was amazing- Rosie was stunned by it. The place, about the size of an airplane hangar, was filled with work tables and tools and blueprints.

On the Bunker's central table, Rosie spotted Festus' head, still scorched and scratched up from Omaha.

Leo went over to Festus, stroking his head. "I'm sorry, Festus. We won't forget you, I promise."

Jason placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Your dad brought it here?"

Leo nodded.

Rosie touched Festus' head. "Hey, buddy," she whispered.

"Can you repair him?" Jason asked.

"No," Leo said. "But I can reuse him. He's coming with us."

"What?" Piper asked. "What do you mean?"

"Guys, look at this!" Nyssa cried excitedly.

She was flipping through a sketchbook, pointing out designs and diagrams for different machines and weapons.

"I've never seen so many creative ideas," she gushed.

"How did this place even get here?" Another Hephaestus camper, Jack Mason, asked.

Leo turned around, where Chiron was standing at a wall of map. It showed Camp Half-Blood with catapults in hills, around the valleys, and spots marked for traps, trenches.

"It's a wartime command center," Leo said. "The camp was attacked once, wasn't it?"

"In the Titan War, right?" Piper said.

Nyssa shook her head. "That can't be right. The date on the map...doesn't it say 1864?"

Everyone turned to Chiron with a confused look.

"Camp...has been attacked many times," he admitted. "That particular map is from the Civil War."

Rosie exchanged an incredulous look with Piper. "Civil War...like the American Civil War?" She asked.

"Yes and no," Chiron answered. "The two conflicts-mortal and demigod- mirrored each other, as they do in western history. For American mortals, it is still their bloodiest conflict of all time. It was just as devastating for demigods. There was a horrible battle in these very woods lasting for days, with terrible losses on both sides."

"The camp split up?" Leo asked.

"No," Jason spoke up. "He means two different groups. Camp Half-Blood was one side in the war."

"Um, who was the other?"

Rosie looked at Jason, who frowned.

Chiron sighed. "That's a dangerous answer. It's something I swore I would never speak of. After this war, the gods were so horrified by its tolls they swore it would never happen again. They separated the two groups, using the Mist to make sure the enemies would never remember each other and never meet on quests. We've had close calls, but for the most part, we've avoided a Civil War. Leo is right- this bunker was a command center for the Hephaestus cabin. It has only been reopened a few times- I'm afraid coming here is dangerous. Even when the Titans threatened last year, I did not think it was worth the risk to use this place."

A panicked look popped up on Leo's face. "This place found _me_. That's gotta be a good sign, right?"

"Perhaps you're right," Chiron answered.

"I am, look!" Leo pulled something out of his pocket, showing it off to the crowd. It was the crayon drawing Aeolus had handed to him.

Nyssa frowned. "Leo, it's a crayon drawing of a boat."

"Look!" Leo pointed to the largest schematic on the bulletin board- the blueprint showing a Greek trireme. Rosie's eyes widened as she realized the similarities between the two. The number of masts and oars, even the decorations on the shields and sails were exactly the same as Leo's drawing.

"How is possible?" Nyssa asked him. "That blueprint has to be a century old at least."

Jake Mason peered at the notes on the blueprint. "Prophecy...Unclear...Flight," he read. "A diagram for a flying ship. There's the landing gear. And weaponry- Holy Hephaestus! Rotating ballista, mounted crossbows, Celestial bronze laying. That thing would be one great war machine! Was it ever made?"

Leo shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "Look at the masthead."

Everyone crowded around the drawing. Peering at it, Rosie felt a smile on her face.

"What is that?" Jake asked. "I don't get it."

"Festus," Rosie spoke up.

Leo grinned at her, nodding. "He's meant to be our masthead. Good luck charm. I'm supposed to build this ship, guys- I'll need your help. I'm gonna call it the _Argo II_."

Rosie was beaming at Leo- she felt so proud of him. He was going to build a freaking war ship.

"The _Argo II_," Rosie said, agreeing. "After Jason's ship."

Jason nodded. "He's right. The ship is what we need for our journey."

"What journey?" Nyssa asked. "You just got back!"

"We've got to confront Porphyrion," Piper explained. "He said he would destroy the gods at their roots."

"Indeed," Chiron said. "Much of the Great Prophecy is a mystery, but one thing is clear. You four- Jason, Piper, Rosie, and Leo- are among the eight demigods who must confront the giants in their homelands. You must stop them before they can wake Gaea fully...before they destroy Mount Olympus."

"You don't mean Manhattan, do you?" Nyssa asked.

"No," Leo said. "The original Mount Olympus. We're going to Greece."

"Who are the other four demigods?" Nyssa questioned.

"How long is the boat going to take?" Jake asked.

"We don't know all the details," Chiron said. "But Leo is correct. He will need all of cabin nine's help to build the _Argo II_."

"It'll take a year at least," Nyssa guessed. "Do we have that long?"

"No," Chiron said. "You have six months at most. You should sail by summer solstice- when the gods' power is strongest. Also, since we evidently can't trust the wind gods, summer winds are the easiest to be navigated. You must avoid ground travel, using only the air and water. This vehicle is perfect for Jason and Rosie…"

Rosie grinned at Jason.

Jake Mason turned to Leo. "One things for sure- you're senior counselor."

Leo looked shocked. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Nyssa insisted. "You're the man."

Leo grinned, rubbing his hands together. "So let's build a spanking war machine, then!"

Chiron demanded that they have a council meeting in fifteen minutes. As the group slowly broke off into separate directions, Rosie grabbed Piper's arm.

"What are you doing?" She asked, as Rosie dragged her towards the cabins.

"Come on, Pipes. Spill." They stood behind Piper's cabin.

She sighed, leaning against the cabin. "Jason broke up with me."

"Oh." Her heart broke for Piper. "Piper, I'm so sorry."

She nodded grimly. "Yeah. He said he needed time...time to figure things out."

"That makes sense, though, right? Everything's coming back to him. It has to be hard for him."

"I know. I just wished...we could figure things out together."

She was slightly angry at Jason. But she knew it wasn't fair for her to be angry. Rosie placed a hand around Piper. "Give him time. Let him figure out who he is...it'll work out."

Piper had a faraway look in her eyes, but nodded. "Yeah. It will. Let's head to the Big House."

The Council took place in the Rec Room of the Big House, around a Ping-Pong table. Rosie already had her share of the nachos on the table.

She was sitting in between Leo and Piper, Jason on the other side of Leo. There were also tons of other people; she tried to remember all of their names: Clarisse from Ares, Clovis from Hypnos, Butch from Iris, Travis Stoll from Hermes, Will Solace from Apollo, Lou Ellen from Hecate, and Miranda Gardiner from Demeter.

There also was Rachel, the oracle Rosie met at the beginning of their quest. She waved at Rosie as she sat next to Chiron at the head of the table. Annabeth was also there, wearing armor over her camp clothes. She didn't say hi to anyone, just sat stiffly in her chair.

"Let's convene, everyone," Chiron spoke. "Lou Ellen, I would appreciate you giving Miranda her nose back. Butch, I think twenty pencils is too many for the human nostril. Thank you. As you all can see, Jason, Piper, Rosie, and Leo have returned successfully- more or less. Jason, perhaps you could tell the full story?"

Jason told the group the entire story, up to right before the meeting, when Hera apparently visited him in Cabin One.

Annabeth clenched her jaw. "So you're saying Hera was here...talking to you."

"I don't trust her-" Jason began quickly.

"Good," Annabeth said flatly.

"But she isn't making up the fact that I came from another group of demigods. I...I remember that."

"Romans." The Ares kid, Clarisse, sneered. "You expect us to believe that there's another camp with demigods, one that follows the Roman forms of the gods. And we haven't heard of them."

"They've purposely been kept apart," Piper chimed in. "Otherwise they would kill one another."

"How come we haven't even run across them on quests?" Clarisse asked.

"You have, though. Many times," Chiron said. "It's always a tragedy, one that leads to the gods wiping the memories of those involved. It goes all the way back to the Trojan War, Clarisse. The Greeks invaded Troy, burning it to the ground. The Trojan hero Aeneas escaped, and eventually made his way to Italy, where he founded what would eventually become Rome. The Romans grew more and more powerful, worshipping the same gods but under different names, and with slightly

different personalities."

Jason spoke up. "More warlike," he explained. "United. More about expansion, conquest, and discipline."

"Gross," Rosie muttered.

Clarisse shrugged. "Eh, maybe they're onto something."

Annabeth leaned back in her seat. "The Romans hated the Greeks. They got their revenge when they conquered the Greek isles, making them apart of the Roman Empire."

"No," Jason insisted. "They didn't exactly hate them. They admired their culture, and were a little jealous of the Greeks. The Greeks thought the Romans were barbarians, but respected their military strength. During Roman times, demigods started to divide- either Roman or Greek."

Annabeth frowned. "Well, where were you guys during the Titan War?" She stared at Jason with a look that made Rosie uncomfortable. Annabeth looked suspicious.

"They did help, Annabeth," Chiron piped in. "While you and Percy were leading the battle to save Manhattan, who do you think conquered Mount Othrys, the Titan base?"

"Hold on," Travis Stoll interrupted. "You said Mount Othrys just crumbled when we beat Kronos."

"No," Jason shook his head. "It didn't just fall. We destroyed their palace. I defeated the Titan Krios myself." Jason sounded different- more confident. Like a leader.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "The Bay Area. We demigods were always told to stay away from it because Mount Othrys was there. But that wasn't it, was it? The Roman Camp must be near San Francisco. Where, though?"

"I cannot say," Chiron said. "I have not been trusted with that information. My counterpart, Lupa, is not the sharing type. And Jason's memory is still in pieces."

"The camp's heavily veiled by magic," Jason explained. "We could search for years and never find it."

Rachel shrugged, looking laidback. "So you'll try. You'll build Leo's ship. Before you go to Greece, you'll sail for the Roman camps. You need their help to defeat the giants."

"Bad idea," Clarisse grunted. "If those Romans see a warship coming, they'll assume we're attacking."

"Yeah," Jason said, agreeing. "But we have to try. I was sent to this camp to convince you all that the two camps don't have to be enemies...a peace offering."

"Eight Heroes of Olympus," Rachel said thoughtfully. "Some Roman, some Greek."

Annabeth nodded. "The Great Prophecy- what's the last line?"

"_And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death._"

"Gaea has opened the Doors of Death," Annabeth said. "She's letting out the worst villains out of the Underworld. Lamia, Midas- there'll be more, I'm sure. Maybe that line means the Roman and Greek demigods will unite, find the doors, and close them."

"Or it could mean they fight each other at the doors of death," Clarisse pointed out. "It doesn't say we'll cooperate."

"I want to go," Annabeth said. "When you build this ship, I'm going."

Jason nodded. "I was hoping you'd offer, Annabeth. We'll need you."

"Wait." Leo frowned. "That's fine and all, but why Annabeth of all people?"

Neither of them said anything for a second. Annabeth and Jason just studied one another.

Rosie knew what it meant. It caused her nothing but dread.

"Hera said my coming here was an exchange of leaders," Jason said. "A way for the two camps to learn of each other's existence."

"And?" Leo asked.

"An exchange goes both ways. When I got here, my memory was wiped. I didn't know who I was or where I belonged. Fortunately, you guys took me in. I know you're not my enemy. The Roman camp...isn't so friendly. They may not be so nice to him. If they learn where he's from, he's going to be in trouble."

"Him?" Leo asked. "Who?"

Rosie stared down at the table.

"My boyfriend," Annabeth said. "He disappeared around the same time Jason did. If Jason came to our camp-"

"Exactly," Jason agreed. "Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn't even remember who he is."

Jason looked at his three friends: Piper, Rosie, Leo. "Guys, we have work to do."

**A/N: while this is the canon ending of TLH, i will be writing a few "minichapters" for the time between TLH and MoA.**


	30. When in Doubt, Eat a Bagel

**January **

Bagels.

Every Friday morning, she had one thought: bagels.

Three chocolate chip. Four everythings. Two egg. Four plains.

Then it would get really complicated. Cream cheese. Butter. Peanut butter. Veggie cream cheese.

Piper raised her eyebrows at her from across the table. "Food hoarder," she teased.

Rosie waved her butter knife menacingly. "Shut up, I'm concentrating."

Piper held her hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying," she said. "You have a delicious untouched bagel right in front of you."

"I will get to it."

"Sure, crazy bagel lady."

"Come on, Piper, Leo and his crew have been up since 5AM. That is an ungodly time."

"You think anytime before noon is ungodly."

Rosie couldn't argue with that. She shrugged, continuing to slather the bagels.

"Morning!" Jason, who was annoyingly chipper in the morning, slammed his cereal down as he sat next to Rosie. "Rosie's carb-loading?"

"Providing. I am _providing_," she argued. "I go into that Bunker, they start throwing all these technical terms at me, and I completely glaze over. This way, I'm helping. I'm getting them breakfast."

Jason peered at her, shaking his head as he shoveled cereal into his mouth. "Nope, I don't buy it. This is totally masking something else."

"Back off, Professor." She double-checked her counting.

Jason nodded at her like he could hear her thoughts. "Nope- this is about your first day with Chiron. You're nervous about training."

Rosie turned to Piper. "You think I could impale Jason with this knife?" she said, waving the butter knife away.

Piper smiled, but said nothing. After all, it was only a short few weeks after their breakup. It was still a little awkward between the two, something Rosie struggled to navigate.

Jason smirked at her. "You're easy to read, Reiger."

"Bite me."

"Who are you biting?" Annabeth Chase sat down next to Piper, a bagel in hand.

"Mr. Sunshine over here," Rosie gestured to Jason.

"She's cranky in the morning," Piper explained to Annabeth.

Annabeth's mouth twitched. "I can see that."

"You should see her on pancake days," Piper said. "The other day, she spilled an entire stack on Travis."

"And he _laughed along_," Rosie pointed out defensively.

"You bring them breakfast everyday?" Annabeth asked, taking a bite of her bagel.

Rosie stifled a laugh, exchanging a look with Piper, whose eyes widened.

Annabeth blinked. "What? What is it?" She looked at Jason. "What did I do?"

"No idea," he said, looking back and forward between Piper and Rosie. "These two are weird."

Rosie smirked at Annabeth. "You just took a bite out of Piper's bagel."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "What? No, I didn't."

"Yes," Piper laughed. "You did."

"Oh. Yikes. Sorry about that."

"It's fine." Piper plucked the bagel back out of Annabeth's hand, taking a bite and grinning at her. "Yummy."

"Alright, folks," Rosie said, starting to stack the bagels into a paper brown bag. "Duty calls."

"You didn't even eat!" Piper argued.

Rosie plucked Piper's bagel out of her hand, and took a bite. "There, it'll be our communal bagel," she said, wiping her mouth. She picked up Jason's coffee and took a sip. "And our communal coffee."

"Hey!" Jason protested, looking disgusted.

"Gotta go, bye!" She picked up the bag, walking out of the dining pavilion.

She walked to Bunker Nine, the stone door propped open by a wooden crate.

"Good morning, Cabin Nine friends!" She yelled out over the activity in the Bunker. "I come bearing gifts!"

"Sup, Rosie!" Eight-year-old Harley roller-bladed past her carrying a blowtorch.

"Little man! Catch!" She threw him a chocolate chip bagel, which he accepted enthusiastically.

She walked further into the bunker, handing out more bagels and stumbling upon Nyssa and Jake.

"Oh, thank god!" Nyssa cried, grabbing her bagel, her cheeks covered in soot. "You're a lifesaver."

"I do what I can," she grinned.

Jason peered into the bag and mock pouted. "What, no poppyseed? I'm like, totally offended."

She shoved him with one arm. "Jerk."

Nyssa laughed. "You're the only person in the world who likes poppyseed, Jake."

He sighed. "It's a lonely world I live in."

"Playing my violin for you, Jake," Rosie laughed, walking further into the workshop.

A moaning, sleepy Izzy walked by.

"Morning, Iz," she said, passing her a bagel.

"What's so good about?" She grumbled, shoving her bagel into her mouth.

"Yo, Reiger, watch out!"

Rosie quickly jumped out of the way as a bunch of metal rods came rolling her way.

TJ, another Hephaestus camper, appeared sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Reiger."

"TJ, that's the third time you've almost killed me this week."

He smiled, shrugging. "It's material organization week. Worth almost killing you?"

She couldn't help but grin. "_Totally _worth almost killing me." The excitement of Bunker Nine was contagious. She handed him an egg bagel. "Any idea where I can find Leo?"

"In the back by blueprints," he said, a mouthful of bagel in his mouth.

"Thanks!"

She found Leo bent over his desk, tongue sticking out as he intently drew something. She took in the sight of him perfectly still and concentrated; it didn't happen often.

He didn't look up as she approached. "So I'm thinking we should get a sign," she joked. "Like '0 days since we almost killed Rosie'."

Leo looked up and grinned. "Freckles!"

"Fire Guy!"

She walked up to Festus, patting him on the head. "Good morning, buddy."

"Man, I've been waiting for bagel day all week," Leo said.

She produced his everything bagel with a smile. "Signed, Sealed, And Delivered."

"Great timing," he said through chewing. "I finished the internal blueprint for the _Argo II._"

"You're gross," she said, handing him a napkin. "But show me!"

Leo gestured to the blueprint, showing the layout of inside the _Argo II_. "Two words: Wii controllers."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "One word: elaborate."

Leo reached for something by his ankles. Rosie gasped as he placed a Wii system onto the table.

"These bad boys are gonna control the ship."

"That...is amazing. Can we please play _Mario Kart _first?"

"Hold up, girl. I'm just getting to the good stuff."

Rosie listened intently as Leo went off on his tangent, describing all the amazing features of the ship. She couldn't lie- it was freaking _epic._

"Now, the cabins are awesome. I know I said everything else was, but for this, I _really _mean it. Jake and I had the idea to put thermoregulators in each of our rooms, to adjust to the preference of the occupant."

She gasped. "I'm never going to be cold again."

He grinned. "Nope. And hey, I put our cabins right near Jason's. I figured we could do stupid things like slip threatening notes under his door."

"Ooh, fun!"

Nyssa appeared, carrying a pile of wood planks. "Are you telling her about the Wii controllers?"

"Already dropped that epic bombshell," she grinned. "Nys- you, me, and Leo- _Mario Kart_ now. You guys are going down."

Leo nodded. "Let's do it!"

Nyssa frowned. "Rosie, you have that meeting with Chiron."

Her stomach did a cartwheel. "It's alright. I can be a little late."

Leo jerked back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! No way!" He gave her a light shove. "Go to training with Chiron."

"But-"

"Now, Freckles!" He said, directing her towards the door. Nyssa winked at Rosie.

"I hate you both," she groaned.

So she found herself in Chiron's office, ready to learn how to control the Mist.

"So how exactly does this work?" She asked. "Is it like hypnotism? Wait- could I make someone do the chicken dance?"

Chiron chuckled. "Slow down, Rosie. Mist control...is a tediously long process."

She didn't like the sound of that. "Sounds long and tedious."

Chiron picked up a notepad. "I was hoping we could start with talking about Max."

"Jumping right into it, huh?"

Chiron nodded. "Let's discuss Max."

"Why?" She raised her eyebrows at him. "What does Max have anything to do with it?"

"You need to improve your mind first and foremost, before learning how to control the Mist. It often requires evaluating one's own memories. Analyzing our own experiences helps us to deliver experiences for others."

"Right...um. Okay. Max. Max...drowned."

"You were there," Chiron said, nodding her on.

"Yeah."

Rosie didn't like this. She wondered why that had to delve into Max, of all things.

"You're not over it," Chiron observed.

She let out a humorless laugh. "Wow. Well, why would I be?"

Chiron gave her an intense look. "Rosie...you've blocked off the memory. You never truly processed the loss of Max. Mist control involves being opening with one's past."

"I processed Max," she fired back defensively. "Just learning that my dad caused his death...made it come back again." She didn't care if there was a chance that wasn't true. In a way, she needed someone to blame. Her dad, of all people, seemed like a good one to blame.

Chiron nodded thoughtfully. "You confide in your friends, right?"

She frowned. "Uh. What?"

"Your best friend is Piper McLean. Do you confide in her? Talk about Max?"

She felt like this was some sort of test. She was increasingly getting nervous. "Piper and I talk about everything. She..she knows."

Chiron sighed, placing the notepad to the side. "Rosie...I understand your fear. Ever since Max happened, you've been afraid of losing control. You're afraid of losing control, letting the anger out and causing dangerous things to happen. Your anger is the key in this process. We learn how to deal with that anger? It'll not only prepare you for Mist control, but I believe it will allow you to control your powers better."

"So…" she trailed off. "What are you saying?"

"We'll pick this up again later."

"What?"

"Rosie-"

"Chiron, I can handle this," she pleaded. "I know I don't seem serious, but I can be. I can handle the Mist, if you teach me. Please. I can do this." She had to learn; she craved the control.

"Rosie, you will learn it. You need time."

"I _don't_," she insisted. "I know I'm not Percy-"

Chiron held a hand up. "Rosie." It was clear by his tone that she stepped too far.

She bowed her head. "Sorry."

"I'd like you to learn how to knit."

This statement was so unexpected, it made Rosie laugh. She pictured herself as an eighty-year-old woman knitting. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Thalia Grace had the same problem as you. She had emotions buried inside that she couldn't bring up and discuss. I told her to take up knitting. She knit me a lovely maroon sweater, actually. The knitting...provided a very therapeutic effect. Allowed her to have an outlet. Soon enough, she was ready. She accepted her past, and thus learned how to control the Mist."

"You want me to knit."

"Correct."

"Should I be trusted around knitting needles?" Rosie and sharp objects didn't seem to mix.

"I don't know, should you?" Chiron held up a pair of needles and a ball of red yarn.

Rosie took them from Chiron's hand. "My mom used to knit. You think it'd be genetic?"

Chiron laughed. "Worth a shot."

She nodded. "Alright. One more question."

"Go ahead."

"How does one actually knit?"

**a/n: so I've decided to do minichapters for each month that passes between TLH and MoA- some will be longer than others. hope you enjoy!**


	31. Professor Grace Can't Draw

**February **

"So this knitting thing is a phase, right?" Nyssa asked, peering over at her with a smirk as she hammered something.

"I _really_ think I'm getting the hang of it," Rosie said, demonstrating.

"Uh-huh."

"You're just jealous I never made you a hat," Rosie said, shaking her head.

Rosie was currently sitting at one of the worktables with Nyssa, her feet up on the table as she was currently knitting her latest project, mittens. She wasn't sure who she was going to give it to. Maybe Annabeth or Chiron; Piper, Jason and Leo had already been subjected to her knitting.

That was what her days mostly consisted of: hanging out in the Bunker, knitting, and lessons with Chiron.

Nyssa laughed. "Trust me, I don't want a hat."

"Ungrateful," Rosie shot with a smile. "What are you hammering anyways?"

Nyssa held up a circular bronze shield. "Railing shield," she explained. "We're going to mount them on the outside of the ship."

"Fancy."

The _Argo II _was coming along as fast as it could. Leo and his cabinmates worked around the clock, 24/7, hammering and welding and drilling away.

"Guys?" Piper's voice drifted through the Bunker.

"Over here!" Rosie called out.

"Marco?" That was Jason speaking now.

"Polo!"

Piper, Jason, and Annabeth appeared, giving Nyssa a wave as they approached. Piper and Jason were both decked out in Rosie's knitting creations, not because they were any good, but because she knew they wanted to support this odd habit of hers. Piper was wearing the purple sweater Rosie knitted, several holes in it and the neck hole being way too big. Jason was wearing a blue scarf, one that probably should've been categorized as an ascot thanks to the length of it.

"Hi, Nyssa, Rosie," Annabeth said, sitting down. "How's the ship coming? Figure out the support beams okay?"

Annabeth would occasionally come in to help with the Argo _II, _mostly because of her architecture background.

"Yeah, thanks," Nyssa said. "TJ drilled them in this morning."

"And Rosie?" Annabeth raised her eyebrows at her. "How's the arts and crafts coming?"

"Fabulously," she muttered, vigorously doing another stitch. "These mittens are going to be fit for a king."

Annabeth's mouth twitched, but she said nothing, simply smiling.

"I'll get Leo for you guys," Nyssa offered helpfully, walking away.

Annabeth had decided that the five of them should be preparing for their upcoming trip by having "lessons". To do that, she wanted Jason to share as much as he could with them about New Rome and Camp Jupiter itself.

Rosie continued knitting. "Are we sure we want to give Jason this much power?"

Jason raised his eyebrows at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on. You _love_ being all teacher-y. Professor Grace."

He shook his head. "I don't."

"You do," Piper pointed out stiffly.

"He's got the knowledge we need-" Annabeth started.

Harley suddenly sprinted past, a panicked look on his face.

"Harley?" Rosie questioned, placing her feet on the ground.

"It's gonna blow!"

Not again. Rosie jumped up. "What? Again?!"

Piper whipped her head around in concern. "What?"

"It's gonna blow!" Harley repeated, flailing his arms around, running away.

"What? What's going to blow?!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Everyone duck and cover!" Rosie screamed, dropping her knitting down.

"What?!" They said in unison.

"DUCK AND COVER!" Rosie screamed, flinging herself under a worktable.

_BOOM_.

The entire Bunker shook, as tiny shards of debris showered down upon them.

Rosie heard a groan.

"Again, Valdez?!" Jake called out.

"My bad!" Leo yelled back.

Piper poked her head out from underneath the table. "Of course that was Leo," she grumbled.

Jason appeared. "What the heck was that?"

"Leo Valdez!" Annabeth screamed, standing up.

Leo appeared with a sheepish smile, offering Rosie a hand to help her up. She got up, shaking her head at him. Leo's clothes were singed and his face covered in soot. On top of his head was a lopsided red knitted hat, one Rosie had made him.

"So prototype 34 wasn't the one," she said to him.

He shook his head. "Not quite. We're almost there."

Piper choked slightly at the sight of Leo's hat. "God, that hat is-" She glanced at Rosie. "I mean- that hat is...beautiful."

Leo grinned, adjusting the hat. "Thanks, beauty queen!" Out of all her friends, Leo was the only one who unironically liked her knitting.

"What the hell was that?" Annabeth asked him furiously.

"_That_ was something you asked me to do, Blondie."

Annabeth's eyes flared at the sound of Blondie. "I asked you to blow up the Bunker?"

Leo let out a nervous laugh. "Er, no. It's about you asking me to find a way to communicate with the Romans, remember?"

Annabeth gave him a blank look.

Jason clapped him on the back. "You're going to have to help us get there, buddy."

Leo fidgeted with his hat. "Well...I had an idea. For a holographic scroll...one that can deliver messages safely to the Romans." He grinned. "Imagine a hologram-sized me."

"Terrifying," Piper said flatly.

Leo gave her a playful shove. "Anyways, um...we're still working out the..._kinks_ of it, I guess."

"He'll get it," Rosie said, nodding, pretending like she didn't know that the scroll had already exploded five times that week.

Annabeth took a deep breath, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Okay. Moving on. Leo, are you ready to listen to Jason?"

"I was born ready!" He exclaimed, gesturing to the back. "Come on, we can sit back here."

He led them to the back of the Bunker, where two worktables were set up in front of a chalkboard. Rosie sat down next to Leo on one of them, while Piper and Annabeth sat on the other one. Rosie continued her knitting, as Jason started tracing something on the board.

Jason took a deep breath, placing the chalk down and turning around to face the four of them.

"Alright. Thanks for coming everyone-"

"Annabeth told us we had to." Rosie muttered, not looking up from her knitting.

Annabeth smirked. "She's not wrong."

Jason sighed, aggravated. "Are you really going to continue knitting?"

"It's my outlet."

Jason yanked the knitting out of her hands with a sigh, placing it to the side.

"That was my outlet," she said, shaking her head.

Rosie pouted, as Leo snickered. "_Somebody's in trouble_," he said in a singsong voice under his breath.

"Shut up," she told him.

"Anyways," Jason spoke loudly over the two of them. "What I've sketched on the board is a rough map of what I can remember of New Rome."

Rosie raised her hand. "Question."

She could've sworn he sighed a little. "Go ahead."

She squinted at the board. "What's that donut thing?"

Jason blinked at her. "What donut thing?"

Leo's eyes widened. "Oh, man, she's right. What is that thing?" He pointed to some lopsided circle Jason drew on the board.

Jason gave them an indignant look. "That's the Circus Maximus. It's where we race chariots."

"No," Rosie said, shaking her head. "It looks like a donut."

Leo nodded, squinting. "Yeah, sorry man, it does."

Piper tilted her head. "No, it kinda looks like an UFO-"

"Enough!" Jason exclaimed. "Moving on. You guys have to understand...we Romans are different from you guys, the Greeks."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "We Romans? Since when do you identify with that?"

Annabeth leaned back into her seat with a smug look. "I, too, would like to know."

Jason rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. What was I saying? Right- the Romans. We have a bit of a...harsher lifestyle. We have to fight to earn our place at Camp. Quite literally; we're dropped off with Lupa and learn to become warriors. I was 3 when I began training with her."

Leo's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "How does a three-year-old become a warrior?"

Rosie stifled a laugh as she imagined three-year-old Jason throwing knives.

A shadow passed over Jason's face. "Not important." He took a breath. "Once Lupa deems you ready, you journey onto Camp Jupiter."

"How old were you then?" Annabeth asked, a thoughtful look on her face.

There was a moment of tension between the two.

"Three...I'm pretty sure I was still three."

"Three." Annabeth repeated this flatly. Rosie could tell Annabeth wasn't buying it.

Piper, Leo, and Rosie exchanged looks at their interaction.

"Yeah." Jason leaned up against the chalkboard. "You come to camp, and join the legion as a probatio, or recruit. When I got there, my dad claimed me so…". He gestured to the first tattooed line on his arm.

Annabeth frowned. "They branded a three-year-old."

Jason narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes, Annabeth. Any other questions?"

Annabeth said nothing.

"So, when I was seven, they allowed me to join a Cohort. That's over here," he said, pointing to the map. "That's how our sleeping assignments are based- by cohort."

"Which one were you apart of?" Piper asked.

A faint smile appeared on his face. "The Fifth Cohort. The worst one-until I got there. I was centurion by the time I was ten."

Annabeth pressed her lips together in thought, saying nothing but giving a disapproving look.

Jason later passed out a test to them, testing them on their knowledge of all things Roman. Rosie, not knowing there was going to be a test, was slightly panicked.

Rosie discreetly nudged Leo. "Hey. What'd you put for number three?"

Leo shielded his paper. "Stay back, cheater!"

"Come on, dude-"

"Rosie!" Jason exclaimed. "Are you cheating?"

"What? No! I-"

Jason took her paper, shaking his head as if he were disappointed.

Rosie groaned. "Seriously," she said to Leo. "Who made him an actual professor?"

"Jason," Annabeth said. "I'm done too."

"Oh. Alright," he said. "I can take your paper-"

"I just have one question. A comment, I guess."

Jason hesitated. "Okay. I'm listening."

"I guess I'm having trouble switching into a Roman mindset. The Greeks go on quest because it's the right thing to do; we want to help the world. The Romans...it sounds like they do it because it's morally right. They just need to do the most honorable thing to get to the next rank. To earn the next honor."

Jason set his jaw. "Okay…"

Annabeth leaned forward on her elbows. "I just hope you know why we're going on this quest. To save the world, not for some glory."

Jason's face fell, and the room got quiet, besides the shuffling of Hephaestus campers working on the _Argo II. _

For a second, Jason said nothing, just frowned.

"I think that's enough for today," he said, walking away.

Annabeth looked embarrassed, like she hadn't meant to push Jason that far. It was no secret that Annabeth was highly suspicious of the Romans and Jason himself. It may have even had something to do with Percy...resenting the fact that Jason was here instead of Percy.

Piper uncomfortably watched Jason leave. She turned to the three of them left. "Should we…" she trailed off, clearly not sure of the protocol of chasing after her ex-boyfriend.

Annabeth winced. "I should probably go-"

"That's probably not a great idea," Leo pointed out.

Annabeth nodded tensely. "Right."

"I could…" Rosie trailed off seeing Piper's crestfallen face. She was going to offer to talk to Jason, but seeing her best friend's face stopped her in her tracks. "No...I can't. I have a meeting with Chiron soon."

Leo stood up. "I'll go talk to him," he volunteered. "I'm sure it's nothing." He shot Annabeth an easy grin as he left the Bunker.

Rosie stood up after he left. "I have to go," she said. "Lesson with Chiron."

Annabeth smiled weakly at her. "Good luck, Rosie."

"Bye, Rosie," Piper called out.

Rosie smiled, saying her goodbyes and walking out.

She stood in Chiron's office, eyes closed.

"You sure you can do it, Rosie?"

"Positive," she said.

"Okay," he spoke soothingly to her. "Let's go through it one more time. We'll discuss Max. Should you embrace the memory and the emotion that comes with it, it should allow you to alter the Mist, and create something you want to see. An illusion. Remember what I told you-"

"The Mist is about creating what the person wants to see. Starting with myself."

"Good, Rosie. Describe that day for me. The day you lost Max."

She took a deep breath.

"It was on the beach."

Rosie could see it perfectly in her mind: the water rushing up to her ankles, the cool sand under her feet. Storm clouds, rolling overhead.

Max was standing in front of her: soft brown curls, baby blue eyes, pink nose.

"Further, Rosie," she heard Chiron's distant voice.

She remembered the warm breeze that day.

Gaea's voice: _You can't protect him, Rosie Reiger_.

_You will both die_.

She knew this part well. Her muscles tensed in preparation.

The sand concaving beneath her. Max's scream.

She never figured just thinking about Max's death could be so powerful. Rosie could practically feel the wave crashing into her, knocking her onto her feet.

She imagined sprinting, just like she did into the ocean.

As she reached the sea, something happened. The scene in her mind dissolved into a fine mist, almost like a light fog.

For a second, she didn't know what she was seeing.

_Then it became clear._

_She knew the moment she saw those eyes. _

_The image started to form. She saw the brown eyes, the spray of freckles, the carefree smile, the curly wild blonde hair. She was young, no more than 24 years old._

_Her mom was sitting on a stool at a bar, beer in hand. She had a pensive, far-away look on her face._

_A stranger slid up next to her at the bar, and Rosie was shocked to see the stranger's face. It was her father, no doubt: tan, warm smile, black windswept hair, sea green eyes._

_Her mom raised her eyebrows at this man, her nose wrinkled. "You smell like high tide."_

_The man laughed. "You smell like roses."_

"_Mine wasn't a compliment."_

"_Mine was."_

_Her mom smirked at him, clearly unimpressed. "What a line."_

"_You want to hear more?" The man leaned in forward closer. "Because I got plenty."_

_Her mom said nothing, just smiled as she took a sip of her beer._

"_For example…" the man lightly traced her mom's freckles. "These sun-kisses."_

"_Sun-kisses?" her mom repeated, rolling her eyes. "You're ridiculous."_

"_Either that, or I'm the love of your life."_

_Her mom burst out laughing, grinning at him. Rosie recognized that grin: it was her grin. "No inbetween, huh?"_

"_Nope."_

_Her mom paused. "I'm Marina. What's your name?"_

"_If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." _

"_Try me."_

_The image slowly started to dissolve, Rosie watching as her mom and dad faded from view._

Her head was throbbing. She ended up on the floor of Chiron's office, on her back.

Chiron was hovering over her. "Rosie…" He smiled. "You did it...how do you feel?"

She slowly sat up, wincing. "I don't know...that wasn't real, right?"

He nodded. "Correct," He said. "You were able to create an illusion. It's what you wanted to see. There might have been details in there that your mind knew you wanted to see." So her parents had definitely not met in a bar.

_You smell like roses_\- Her mom had always told her she started calling her Rosie because of her rosy cheeks as a newborn. Was it possible that detail was thrown in that because of that? Or her father complimenting her mom's freckles- her mom always called them sun-kisses.

"Got it." She nodded slowly. "I have another question...when Hera altered my memories- Piper and Leo's too- is...is it possible to get those back?"

Chiron frowned. "That's a little hazy. Sometimes, those memories can be brought back by a trigger. Something that reminds you of a memory Hera altered."

She said nothing, just nodded again.

"Rosie, are you alright? The first few times drain you. We can stop for today. Perhaps you should get some rest." He was giving her a concerned look.

She stood up shakily. "Yeah. I should go."

"Rosie?"

"Yes?"

"You did good today. Keep up the knitting."

She smiled. "Thank you, Chiron."

Rosie left the Big House, shivering in the brisk February wind. She started walking away, but not before she spotted a familiar face.

"Hey."

Jason, who was sitting on the porch steps of the Big House, nodded at her. "Hi."

"It's cold out here."

"I've got your scarf," he said, shrugging.

"Okay, you're concerning me." He hated her scarf. She sat down next to him on the step. "Are you alright, Jason? Is this about before? Annabeth didn't mean it, she's just-"

"She was right."

"Huh?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's all coming back to me. I thought it would be good, getting my memories back. It's not-I'm not-"

Rosie placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jason, what happened? Slow down."

"I don't think I was a good person, Rosie."

She didn't know how to respond to that. Her Jason, their Jason, was a good person. "Um-"

"I'm remembering everything and...I was just this...perfect Roman robot. Did everything I was taught to do, not because I wanted to, but because I felt like I had to. I had to be the best. I had to be the perfect soldier."

"Jason-" Rosie said softly in an anguished voice.

"I never even got to be a kid. My entire life, it's been about discipline. Honor. Glory. I don't...I don't like that Jason."

"Okay, but that's not you," Rosie argued.

"That _is_ me, though. I'm Roman."

"You weren't that guy, ever. You're a good friend, Jason. I know that and Piper and Leo know that-"

"I can't go back," he said in a hushed tone.

Rosie had never seen Jason like this- so panicked, so scared. It freaked her out.

"Jason." Rosie grabbed his hand. "I know you're scared. I know it's scary to think about your past, who you were. That's not who you have to be; I know that's not who you are."

"I'm going to go back...and everyone's going to expect me to be the same-"

"People change."

He frowned. "That's what Leo said, too."

"Once in a while, Leo and I are really intelligent," she tried to joke.

"I-I don't even know if I had friends back there. I had fellow soldiers, but...actual friends…"

"That doesn't even matter. You have us."

He took a breath. "And Rosie?"

"What?"

"I think...there might have been an Reyna."

She didn't get it at first. Then, it hit her.

_Oh_.

There might have been a girl.

"Okay…." she trailed off slowly. "Do you want there to be a Reyna?" She didn't know how she was going to break it to Piper.

He thought about it for a second, then shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I don't."

"Okay. Then...there doesn't have to be a Reyna."

Rosie sat there with him, holding his hand. She didn't care that it was thirty degrees out or that she really needed to pee.

Her friend needed her.

**A/N: I took a few liberties with Jason's backstory; I really wanted to delve into it, more than the HOO series did.**

**also shoutout to radoddish! i agree, mario kart is awesome**


	32. Take a Break

**March**

"I hate this game."

Jason shook his head. "You hate this game because you're losing."

"Nah, bro, this game does really suck," Leo piped in.

The four of them had a rule: every month, they had game night. Just the four of them. They rotated who got to pick: Leo picked _Mouse Trap_ during January, Piper picked _Taboo _last month, and while Rosie hoped it would be her this month, (and she would pick _Pictionary_, in hopes they could test Jason's poor drawing skills) it was Jason. So that was the reason for _Monopoly, _the game no one asked for.

Jason shrugged, placing his house down on another property. "You guys just don't get investment."

Leo balanced the game's lid on top of his head. "You guys just don't get investment," he mimicked Jason's voice.

Piper let out a giggle, avoiding eye contact with Jason. Rosie shot a sideways glance at Jason. Piper had no idea about what Jason said last month- about who he was, about a possible girlfriend. She wasn't sure where the two stood.

They were in Cabin 3- they usually played in either Jason or Rosie's cabin, since they were usually the only ones in their respective cabins.

Rosie was lying off the edge of her bed

upside down, giving up on the game. Instead, she was trying to fold one of the _Monopoly_ dollar bills into a swan.

"Tampered money will not be accepted," Rosie heard Jason say, eyebrows raised at her folding.

Rosie balled up the dollar bill, throwing it at Jason. It smacked his forehead and ricocheted off onto the floor. Leo let out a short burst of laughter.

Jason glared at her, as Piper shook her head, laughing.

"Your room is a warzone," she told Rosie.

That was partially true- besides night, Rosie didn't spend that much time in her cabin. Her sheets were crumpled into a ball on the floor, her pajamas thrown across the room. Her various knitting projects were laid out across the other unused bunks.

Jason nodded in agreement. "Honestly, how do you even pass inspection?"

"You gotta know the right people," Rosie said, winking at him.

"On the _Argo II_," Leo chimed in. "You can make your cabin as messy as you want."

Piper balled up a dollar bill and threw it at Leo. "Self-promo, much?"

"Hey, beauty queen, I'm just saying, the _Argo II _is a masterpiece-"

"You guys ever think about who the other demigods are?" Jason interrupted.

An uncomfortable silence rose between the four of them.

Rosie thought about the Eight a lot- more than she would like to admit.

"Yes," Piper spoke up. "I do. I mean, it's obviously us. That makes up half."

"Annabeth, probably," Leo offered.

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "And probably…" he trailed off, glancing at Rosie.

"Percy Jackson," she finished for him.

Jason nodded. "Yeah. Percy Jackson."

She laughed. "You guys don't have to hide him from me. I am aware he exists."

"And…" Piper trailed off. "You're okay with that."

"More than okay. Sublime."

Leo frowned. "I don't think sublime works in this situation."

"You're thinking of subpar."

"No, no I'm not," Leo muttered.

"Rosie, it's okay to feel a little awkward about Percy-" Jason began.

"You're not thinking of subpar? What are you thinking of then, submarine?"

"Rosie-" Piper started, concerned.

"I'm fine. It's fine. Percy is...fine," she shrugged, pretending to be indifferent. "Someone pass the dice, it's my turn."

"But-"

"Pass the dice. I'm going to make a comeback."

A few days later, Rosie was on her way to Capture the Flag when Nyssa pulled her off to the side.

"What's up?" Rosie asked.

Nyssa looked concerned. She took a deep breath. "I'm worried about Leo."

"What? Why?" The last time she saw Leo, he was fine; he was teaching Harley how to use the jigsaw.

"Rosie, he's been going nonstop...most nights he stays at the Bunker until 4AM, and even then, sometimes crashes there...it's not healthy, you know? He won't even take a break for Capture the Flag."

Rosie winced. "Crap. He gets like that."

Nyssa nodded. "I know. Could…could you maybe talk to him? Talk some sense into him? I don't want his entire life to be the _Argo II_, you know?"

"I will," she said.

The Bunker was eerily silent, except for the sound of one drill. She followed the sound to the back, where Leo was wearing a pair of goggles and drilling some pieces of wood together.

"Yo, hermit crab," she called out over the drill.

Leo paused drilling, taking off his goggles and looking up at her expectantly. "Need something?"

"I'm extracting you for some mandatory fun time. Come play Capture the Flag with me so I can destroy you."

Leo didn't look good- she could clearly see the bags under his eyes, unwashed hair, clothes covered in soot.

Leo shook his head, putting his goggles back on and drilling again. "Can't, Freckles. I have to finish this."

She laughed. "What, the entire ship in one day? Rome wasn't built in a day, you know."

"I'm busy, Rosie."

"Leo, come on, play Capture the Flag."

He waved her off, not even looking at her, just inspecting his work. "I don't even like Capture the Flag."

"How can you not like Capture the Flag?"

He didn't say anything, just continued drilling.

"Leo, come on," she pleaded. "Take a break. You're starting to give _the Addams Family_ a run for their money; you need sun."

He looked up at her, glaring. "I can't talk right now, Rosie. If you want to talk binding wires or ballistas, I'm your man. If not…" he shrugged, looking back down and continuing to drill.

She sighed, leaving the Bunker in a huff.

"I'm telling you, Piper," she said later that night. "He's gone completely crazy."

Piper and Rosie were in desperate need of a girl night. Although there was a campfire they were supposed to be at, they both feigned sickness. Instead of going to the campfire, they sat in Piper's cabin having an Audrey Hepburn movie night. They watched their two favorites, _Breakfast at Tiffany's _and _Funny Face._

Piper was now braiding her hair, which was when Rosie decided it might be a good idea to point out Leo's dilemma.

"I mean, it was bound to happen one day, right?" Piper joked.

"Ha ha. But, seriously, Pipes, it's frightening. He won't even shower, let alone leave the Bunker."

"First off, gross. Second off, stop moving."

"Sorry." She tried to keep still. "I just don't want him to be so…"

"Obsessed," Piper said tightly.

"Yeah, obsessed."

"Maybe it's not so bad," Piper offered. "We do leave in three months, after all."

They sat there in silence, as Piper continued braiding Rosie's hair.

"Rosie?"

"Yeah?"

Piper exhaled. "I need to tell you something."

Rosie groaned. "Don't tell me you're going to turn us in. We're both violently ill, remember?"

"It's not that, you weirdo, stop moving! It's just that...Jason kissed me."

"What?!" Rosie jerked out of Piper's grip.

Piper sighed. "One of these days, maybe you'll sit long enough to let me finish a braid."

Rosie turned around to face Piper. "When did this happen? How-what-"

Piper looked nervous; she was wringing her hands together. "Last night. He was walking me back to my cabin. It just happened, Rosie, I don't know…"

Rosie peered closely at Piper's face. "Are we happy about this? Sad? Angry?"

The door slammed open, and a scowling Drew walked in. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but shut it and walked to her bunk, facing away from Piper and Rosie.

Piper leaned her cheek on her hand. "I don't know, that's the weird thing...don't get me wrong, I was _so _happy. It was such a good moment...but he…"

"What? Used too much tongue? Knocked into your teeth?"

Piper pushed her. "No, nothing like that. The kiss was good; really good. It's just...I don't know if he's ready for a relationship."

"He said that?"

"He's still figuring things out…"

"Yeah. It was a lot to take in."

"Exactly. He said he didn't know where to take things, but he really likes me and wants me in his life…"

A laugh was emitted from Drew's bunk.

Rosie rolled her eyes, leaning outside of Piper's bunk. "Hi, sorry Drew, is your pillow exceptionally funny?"

Drew turned around, facing them. "You two know nothing about love, do you?"

Rosie looked at Piper with a mock confused look. "What is this foreign concept she speaks of?"

"Is that like, a disease?" Piper asked.

"Whatever," Drew scowled. "I won't help you with Jason, then. Take your love advice from _Rosie_."

"What a weird way to insult someone," Rosie muttered to herself.

"My love life isn't any of your concern, Drew," Piper shot back.

"By the sound of it, you won't have any love life to begin with."

"Wait, what?" Piper sounded legitimately concerned about this.

Drew stood up, coming over to stand by Piper's bed. "You and Jason are clearly not communicating."

"It's really not-"

"You want help, or not?"

Piper chewed her lip in thought.

Drew sighed. "Look, all I'm saying is that Jason is probably craving stability right now."

"God, I was hoping you were going to say Brussels sprouts," Rosie said.

Drew shot her a look. "He's been confused since he got to camp, so _obviously _he wants to be sure that if he gets together with you, it's for real and that you're not going anywhere."

Piper looked horrified. "That actually makes sense."

"And by the sounds of it, you really want to gnash your face against his."

"Ew," Rosie muttered, frowning.

"You two are dense as bricks," she said, rolling her eyes. "Piper, you need to tell Jason what you want and reassure him that you'll be there for him. All of this could easily be solved by a conversation."

"By...talking?" Piper asked, clearly not buying it.

"You do know how to, don't you?"

"Yeah, Drew," Piper said, shaking her head. "Anyways...uh, thanks? I think."

Drew shrugged like she didn't care, but a faint smile was on her face. "Yeah. No problem," she said, wistfully looking at Rosie and Piper. Maybe Rosie was imagining it, but Drew almost looked...longing. Jealous, maybe?

Drew sat down on the floor and looked at Rosie. "What about you? You need any love advice?"

"Uh, no thanks," she quickly said.

Drew tilted her head at Rosie, observing her.

Rosie looked at Piper. "What is she doing?" She asked, her voice becoming high-pitched.

Piper shook her head. "I don't know-"

"You're not terrible-looking," Drew decided, still looking at Rosie.

"Thank...you?"

"I mean, your complexion isn't great, but I guess your eyes are nice. If you maybe covered your freckles-"

"Nope."

"But they're so-"

"I like 'em."

Piper laughed, shrugging at Drew. "She's stubborn."

"I will get to her," Drew said seriously.

Campers started streaming in from the campfire, which Rosie took as her cue to go.

"I'll see you guys later," she said to them, standing up. She looked at Drew. "Maybe next campfire we can all simultaneously get the flu?"

Drew looked hopeful, but suspicious. She looked at Piper. "Seriously?"

Piper smiled. "If you sit still, I'll braid your hair."

Rosie walked out of their cabin, processing the events that just occurred.

Did they just become sorta-friends with Drew?

**A/N: reviews are always appreciated!**


	33. We Could Make It Together

**April**

As March grew into April, Leo became more obsessed with finishing the _Argo II, _working into the early hours of the morning and hardly seeing his friends. It was becoming a huge issue- but one Rosie had the solution to.

"Guys!" She burst into Jason's cabin without knocking.

Jason and Piper were sitting on the floor of Jason's cabin, Piper's legs stretched out onto Jason. The two of them had a long conversation last month, and had decided to give the relationship another try.

"Oh." Rosie smirked at them. "Okay, I see what's going on here."

Jason reddened, as Piper stuck her tongue at her.

"Nothing is going on here," Piper said, laughing.

"Okay. I believe you guys," she said, winking at Jason.

Jason sat up quickly. "She just winked at me!" He yelled, pointing at Rosie.

Rosie feigned confusion. "Me? No, I didn't."

Piper played with his hair. "You're mistaken, sweetie."

Rosie winked at him again.

"She just did it again!" Jason insisted.

Rosie stifled her grin. "Uh, no I didn't. Talk about paranoid."

"You're evil."

Piper shook her head, smiling. "Is there a reason you barged in here?"

"Oh. Right. I think I'm onto something. Have either of you see Will?"

Piper scrunched her face up in confusion. "Solace? What do you need him for?"

"Like I said, I'm onto something. You guys know where he is?"

"Sorry, haven't seen him," Jason said, still looking a little red.

"Unhelpful," Rosie joked. "I gotta go find him, I'll see you guys later."

She closed the door to Jason's cabin, then opening it just a bit to freak out Jason.

She found Will outside on his cabin steps, strumming a ukulele.

"Will!" She exclaimed, sitting down next to him.

"Hey, Rosie. What's going on?"

"I need music."

Will raised his eyebrows at her, amused. "You want me to just pull it out of my pocket?"

Rosie buried her face into her hands. "Will."

"Not getting what you're putting forward, Reiger."

"You're an Apollo kid," she said, trying to explain her train of thought. "That means music. I need music, and I need it fast."

He looked confused. "You want my ukulele?"

"Gross, no. I was thinking more...I don't know, a radio? Maybe?"

Will paused, thinking over these words. He suddenly snapped his fingers. "I think there's a radio in the tool shed-"

She was already up, running towards the shed. "Thanks Will!" She called.

Leo was the only one in the Bunker- like Nyssa said, he hardly took breaks. She found him pacing on the deck of the _Argo II_, tape measure in his hand.

"Hey, sailor," She called up. "Come down. I've got something for you."

He leaned over the railing of the ship, frowning. "It's not bagel day."

"Wow, you associate me with food, I'm touched."

"Need something, Freckles?" He asked, smudging his cheek with oil.

"Will you come down already?"

A few seconds later, Leo appeared, wiping his hands on a cloth. He peered at the outside of the ship, frowning and pulling a hammer out of his ship.

"Leo."

"Right, sorry. What's up?" He asked, looking over at her.

"I got a present. Drum roll, please,"

Leo banged his hammer against the ship as Rosie revealed the radio from behind her back.

"Ta-da!"

"A radio," He said, unimpressed. "Awesome."

She let out a gasp. "This is not just a radio."

"Right! Sorry! A radio from the prehistoric age," he mused, hammering again. "The smell gave it away."

"Wrong again," She admonished teasingly, placing the radio on the table next to them. "This, my friend, is not your average old timey radio. No, no, it's far too spectacular for that. This is a time machine,"

Leo shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Freckles-"

"And the best part," she exclaimed. "Is that we don't even need to leave to use it."

Leo paused, a smirk on his face. "Really now?"

She beamed. "Listen." She turned it on, only for _Candida _by Tony Orlando&Dawn to come on. "Welcome to the 1970s."

Leo let out a laugh (mission accomplished).

Rosie started to sway. She knew she had no rhythm, but this wasn't about her. "Well, come on, Valdez...I know you have those killer moves,"

"I think you mean legendary," Leo said, and Rosie laughed, nodding him on.

After a second, Leo started dancing towards her, a little bounce in his step. He bobbed his head and moved his arms to the beat, his eyes closed and a relaxed smile on his face. She laughed, grabbing his hands. The two of them danced around the bunker, and for a while, there were no giants or ships to build or a world falling apart. Just two friends, dancing the world away.

Leo smiled and spun her around. Rosie laughed as he dipped her, her brown hair cascading in waves towards the ground as she leaned her head back.

"Not bad, Fire Guy," She said.

"Why, thank ya, Freckles,"

* * *

"I think my eyes are deceiving me," Piper said, sliding up to Rosie later that day, outside of the cabins. "Is that Leo? In the daylight?" Jason appeared behind Piper.

"In the flesh," Rosie replied with a smile, watching Leo as he was playing basketball (albeit terribly) with Travis and Connor Stoll.

Piper shook her head in amazement. "How did you do that?"

"Everything short of murder."

Jason smirked. "I was going to stop by the Bunker and say hi, but you two were...uh, _dancing_," he said, giving her a nudge.

"It was stress relief, Mr. Grace," she said. "I can help you out with that." She poked his stomach and stuck her tongue out at him.

Jason's face reddened. Piper laughed, wrapping her arm around him.

"You're mean," she said to Rosie.

"I like getting your boyfriend all flustered, it's fun," she said, smirking. She spotted a new group of campers approaching Leo. "Ooh, shut up. Watch."

"Watch what?" Jason asked.

"Shush!"

Leo held out his hand to the new camps, grinning at them. Rosie noticed Connor and Travis slinking away, video camera in hand.

"Hey guys, nice to meet you, I'm Leo-" Leo broke off, as he willed himself to catch on fire. Leo screamed, as the flames traveled up his body.

Jason burst out laughing. "He is evil-"

"Evil," Piper agreed. "But genius."

Leo threw himself onto the ground, as the new campers looked extremely confused and slightly terrified. "Help me! Help! The flames are consuming me!"

"That's my cue," Rosie said to her friends, rolling her eyes and laughing.

She ran over to Leo, quickly extinguishing him. She shooed away the campers as she helped Leo up. "Okay, okay, show's over, sorry Leo traumatized you guys,"

Leo could stop laughing, as he leaned on Rosie.

Rosie rolled her eyes at him, but she was smiling. "There's _work _to be done."

"Admit it, Freckles, that was the best one yet."

"Giants."

"Did you see their faces?"

"_Leo-eating _giants," she laughed.

The change was slow, but meaningful. Leo would join them for meals more often. Piper and Rosie rotated getting him out of the Bunker by midnight. He was generally more relaxed. She'd never admit it, but she was happy with the change.

* * *

"_Stand up, warrior."_

_A wolf was standing there, facing Rosie. It was huge- looming over her, silver eyes, chocolate red fur. It had a commanding presence- she couldn't look away._

"_Stand up, Son of Poseidon."_

_She turned around. Standing behind her was the boy she recognized from Annabeth's pictures, kneeling on the ground: Percy Jackson. Taller, taller than her. Messy jet black hair, sea green eyes staring back at her._

"_Poseidon? What...what's going on?"_

_Percy looked agitated. It was the same look Jason had the day he woke up on the bus at Wilderness. _

"_What do you remember, soldier?"_

"_I...who are you? I-I- what's my name?"_

"_What do you remember?" The wolf- Lupa- repeated._

_Percy hesitated, squinting as if he was trying to remember. "Annabeth...I remember a Annabeth." _

"_You are a demigod, Percy Jackson."_

_Percy frowned. "A demigod…"_

"_Your father is Poseidon, the god of the sea. You admire and respect him greatly."_

_Rosie backed away, feeling like she was intruding a private moment._

"_Dad." Percy furrowed his brow in confusion. _

"_Stand up."_

_Percy stood up. "I...I shouldn't be here. Annabeth…"_

"_Annabeth will be waiting for you when you finish your quest."_

"_Quest?"_

"_We have work to do, Percy Jackson."_

Rosie woke up with a start, unable to catch her breath. It was becoming real- the fact that there was a _Percy_, and she was going to meet him, and...he didn't hate their father.

_You're right about Percy._

Rosie jolted out of her bed. _No. _Not that voice- that voice was back. Gaea.

_He loves the father who destroyed your life._

Her mouth was dry, as she gasped for breath. She couldn't catch her breath; she leaned forward on her knees, gasping and choking.

_Two Poseidon children will go on the quest. Only one will come out. It doesn't have to be that way, Rosie. Join me._

She let out a sob, as the room began to jolt underneath her. The familiar pulsing of an earthquake began, her muscles shaking.

Rosie ran out of her cabin, sprinting into the night in her pajamas. The rumbling became more powerful, causing the entire ground beneath her to shake. Sleepy campers began arousing, spilling out onto the grass, confused.

"Rosie…?" A sleepy Piper called out.

Rosie ran past her, ignoring her. She had to go to Chiron, _now_.

Rosie burst into the Big House, and with a shock, she saw Jason and Chiron, sitting across from one another. Jason's eyes were bloodshot- had he been crying? Had she woke them up?

"Rosie-" Chiron started.

"I can't do it."

"Do what?"

She paced the floor, the entire house shaking, dust raining down.

"Rosie-" Jason started.

"I'm not going on the quest, okay? I can't-I can't-" The words tumbled out of her violently.

"Rosie, calm down-" Chiron pleaded.

"No! I can't _do this._ I can't see him- it's just a reminder of what Barnacle Breath did!"

Chiron furrowed his brow in confusion. "Barnacle Breath?"

"I think she means Poseidon, sir," Jason offered helpfully.

The building was swaying, as Rosie's entire body felt like it was throbbing.

"Rosie, who are you talking about?" Chiron asked, confused. "Talk to us."

She was crying now, covering her eyes. "He has a mom and a family and I _don't-_"

"Percy?" Chiron asked. "Is this about Percy?"

"He doesn't even know," Rosie said in a hushed tone. "He doesn't know about me, he doesn't know what Poseidon _did _to my family, to Max-"

"Rosie." Chiron wheeled over and grabbed her wrist. "Look at me."

She stared at the ground, tears running down her cheek. The rumbling was so, _so _loud-

"Rosie, look at me."

Shaking, she looked into Chiron's kind, gentle eyes. Jason stood quietly behind him, looking worried.

"I can't do it," she whispered.

"You can and you will. You have to, Rosie. You can save the world."

She shook her head. If anything, Gaea was right- this quest would end terribly. "No, I'm dangerous, I can't even control these stupid earthquakes-"

"You're learning how to control the Mist. The Mist is controllable. Your earthquakes aren't, but that doesn't mean they have to be a danger-"

"I can't face him." She was scared, scared of meeting Percy. And knowing that he had this picture family life _she envied_.

"Take a deep breath, Rosie. I know you're upset. Your father hurt you. Max was taken from you. Percy grew up differently than you...take a deep breath."

She tried to, slowly filling her lungs with air.

"There you go. Good."

She closed her eyes, breathing again.

_Crack._

She opened her eyes.

A thin crack had appeared, running down the length of the carpet. Other than that, there was no damage. Just a single crack spilling the floor.

"See, Rosie?" Chiron said. "It doesn't have to be dangerous. Used properly, it could be your greatest power. You are in control."

She sniffled, wiping her face off of tears.

"I'm scared."

"To be fair," Jason spoke up. "So am I."

Chiron chuckled lightly, as Rosie let out a giggle.

"Rosie...Percy is the greatest ally you can have. He isn't defined by his father, just like you aren't."

"Right...okay…" she took another deep breath, feeling her mind clear.

Chiron and Jason were right; everything would be fine. She was in control. He was ready. She just couldn't stop thinking about that voice.

_You will be mine, my little hero._

**A/N: the part where Leo sets himself on fire is based off a headcanon on tumblr by docrimesbegay! **


	34. A Dangerous Realm

**May**

Rosie had gotten Leo hooked.

After that day in April, the radio had stayed in the Bunker. Whenever Rosie entered the Bunker, she would usually be pleased with the music choice.

Her music taste had rubbed off on Leo.

Rosie could hear _Rocketman_ floating out of the Bunker as she entered, bagel bag in hand.

She relished in the sight of organized chaos: yells over the music, the sounds of saw drills and hammers, campers running around.

"This music is trash, Reiger," TJ complained, grabbing his bagel as he walked past her.

"You're a hater," she said, shaking her head and walking further into the Bunker.

Harley was on a skateboard today, wheeling past holding a screwdriver.

"Wear a helmet!" Rosie reminded him, placing the bagel on his head.

"Rosie!" Jake appeared, wiping sweat off his face.

Rosie made a face, but quickly shot him a smile when they made eye contact.

Jake frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Er, nothing," she said quickly, plastering a smile on her face.

"You made a face."

"No, I didn't," she gritted through teeth, still smiling.

Jake laughed. "I'm pretty sure you did," he said, placing his hands on his lips.

"Okay, guilty. Can you blame me? You're sweaty."

He grinned. "Okay, point taken. Maybe I need a daughter of Poseidon to cool me down."

"You're beyond help."

Jake shrugged, still grinning. "You're a tough critic, Reiger. Come with me."

He grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the _Argo II_.

Rosie slowed him, wiggling out of his hand's grasp. "Whoa, man, where we going?"

He nodded towards the ship. "Come on. You're going on this quest; you should get to help with the ship."

"I don't think that's a good idea-" she tried to protest.

But Jake dragged her onto the ship anyways; despite the ship being eighty percent complete, she hadn't been on it yet.

"Wait, wait," she told Jake, stopping on the deck. "I want to see what it's like to do the _Titanic_ pose."

He laughed, pulling her down the stairs. "Later, come on."

Jake brought her down to the cabins, pulling her into one of the rooms. "This one is yours." He handed her a paint brush, taking the bag of bagels from her and placing it down. "Do with it what you will."

"Seriously?" She grinned, grabbing a bucket of blue paint. "Am I allowed to do this?"

Jake shrugged. "I won't tell if you don't."

Rosie laughed, placing the paintbrush on the walls of her cabin, painting up and down in even strokes. Jake grabbed another paintbrush, helping her.

"I smell bagels." She heard the faraway voice of Leo. "Where's Rosie? Has anyone seen Rosie? Sometimes responds to Freckles?"

Leo appeared a second later, stopping short in the doorway. "Oh. Hey guys."

"Hey," Rosie said with a nod. "Jake's letting me do damage with a paintbrush."

"Slightly regretting it," Jake muttered under his breath.

Leo smirked. "I see. Can I borrow you for a sec, Freckles?"

Rosie placed her paintbrush down. "Yeah. I'll be back," she said to Jake.

She followed Leo out, grabbing the bagel bag.

Leo led her to the deck of the _Argo II, _where Rosie propped herself up onto the railing, throwing him his bagel.

"It's really coming along, huh?" Rosie said, looking at the ship around them.

Leo grinned proudly, his cheeks puffed up with bagel. "Yeah. Commander Tool Boy ain't too shabby now, huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Fire Guy," she pulled her own bagel out of the bagel, a chocolate chip bagel.

Leo raised her eyebrows at her. "You never eat your bagel here."

"So?"

"Why are you eating it here?"

"Jason and Piper are doing...couple things."

"Ah. Well, sucks for them, they're gonna miss this!" With a flourish, he produced a scroll and handed it to her. "Open it."

"Oh god, is this going to explode in my face?"

He shook his head. "Just open it!"

She tentatively opened it, and a hologram-sized Leo popped up.

"Testing, testing," said hologram Leo. "Testing, testing, 1 2 3...Holy Hephaestus! It works! Guys, it works!"

The image dissolved, and Rosie looked up at real life-sized Leo, who was beaming.

"It works."

He nodded. "It works."

"Yo, Valdez!" TJ yelled up to them from the Bunker floor. "We got all the rock off."

Leo grimaced. "Great. I'll be down in a sec."

"Rock?" Rosie asked. "What rock?"

Leo sighed. "I wasn't going to tell you guys this but...I think the _Argo II_ had its very own Dirt Face encounter last night."

Rosie's face fell. Ever since the night she had a dream about Percy Jackson, Gaea's voice had been in her head: begging her to do things. Join her. Destroy the ship.

Every night, she had a dream. Usually with Percy in it; sometimes Max. Sometimes even her cyclops half-brother, Tyson, whom she hadn't even met.

She hadn't told any of her friends about this; she didn't want to freak any of them out.

"What...what exactly happened?"

"Came in this morning to find the hull of the ship encased in rock. It was fine; we broke out the jackhammers, but…" he broke off, a frown appearing on his face.

Rosie went silent, as _Satellite_ by the Dave Matthews Band came on.

"Good song," Leo commented softly.

"Yeah," she said. "Good song."

Leo gave her a thoughtful look. He pulled out a stack of post-it notes and a marker out of his toolbelt.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I kept promising you I would help you with your Spanish."

"Leo-"

"_La chica_-the girl," he said, pressing the post-it note onto her forehead.

Rosie smiled. "Do another one," she commanded.

He grinned, writing down something. "_La vela- _the sail." He put the post-it note onto the sail.

Leo pointed to a bar underneath the sail. "This thing is called a-"

"Boom," Rosie said, although she didn't know how she knew that word.

Leo blinked at her. "How did you know that?"

"I have no idea." Maybe being a Poseidon kid made her a secret sailor?

Leo shrugged, grinning as he continued to place post-it notes on the ship.

"You will learn this language, _Pecas_."

* * *

She was getting freaky good at the Mist thing- at least, doing it on herself.

She knew she was in Chiron's office. But, in her mind, she was swimming down into the sea, deeper and deeper. She was at peace, enjoying the weightlessness feeling of being underwater.

"Good, Rosie," Chiron's voice sounded so far away.

She swam deeper. The pressure didn't bother her- she could stay under the water as long as felt like it.

_You think you're safe from me, Rosie? There is no place safe from me- not even the sea._

She tried to ignore the voice, continuing to swim further and deeper.

_Nowhere is safe._

It happened almost instantaneously.

Her muscles seized up, and she suddenly felt like dead weight. She lost her breathing bubble, feeling as if she were choking. She flailed in the water, gasping for air. Her body became heavier, and no matter how hard she kicked, she wasn't moving towards the surface. The water was fighting against her, preventing her from moving.

She kept flailing. She was going to drown, she knew it.

She felt the panic sink in, as she kept sinking and sinking and sinking-

"_Rosie_!"

She snapped out of it- one second she was in the sea, the next she was in Chiron's office, Chiron's hand on her shoulders as he shook her.

Rosie was breathing heavily- gasping, really.

"What happened?" He asked, looking worried. "You lost it- you started screaming-"

"I was drowning," she muttered to herself. "I was drowning."

"How, Rosie? You had it under control, what happened?" Chiron asked her.

She couldn't tell him the truth-that would involve telling him about the constant voice in her head, Gaea messing with her.

"I-I don't know. I guess I got distracted."

"I don't understand why it would become drowning, Rosie, you're a child of Poseidon…"

She looked Chiron in the eyes. "I already know that a child of Poseidon can drown."

Chiron went silent.

She thought of Gaea's words: _Nowhere is safe._

The door opened, and Annabeth walked in.

"Do you need something, Annabeth?" Chiron asked.

"Gleeson's here."

"What?" Rosie asked. "Hedge is back?" Last she heard, Hedge was in LA with Piper's dad.

Chiron nodded. "I believe he's going to be the chaperone on this quest of yours."

"Really?" Rosie asked, grimacing. "You sure about that?"

"Alright!" She heard Coach from outside. "Now where's this spanking war machine?!"

Chiron winced. "No," he said. "I am not sure."

**June**

June went by in a frantic haze. The first week brought both Piper and Rosie's birthday, an impromptu birthday party being held in the Bunker, involving a disastrous cake made by Jason and Leo.

The next week, Festus was mounted as their figurehead, and for Rosie, that solidified it. This was their quest; it was happening.

Before she knew it, it was the Solstice- their deadline.

"Does this armor make me look fat?" Rosie asked sarcastically as she, Jason, and Piper walked into the woods.

"Yes," Jason said, not even bothering to turn around to look.

Rosie rolled her eyes at Piper, who gave her a tight smile. Once Hedge came back, Piper seemed more...worried. She sensed her friend was frightened about something. What? She didn't know.

"Don't mind him," she said. "Sparky's on edge."

"Hold up," Rosie said, wondering if she misheard. "_Sparky_?"

"Piper, remind me to tell you the definition of a secret," Jason said, groaning.

They approached the Bunker, and she could see the top of the ship from where she was standing. Leo was waiting for them there, as were Annabeth and Hedge. They were ready to sail for Camp Jupiter.

"I think that is my all time, favorite-"

_You're heading into a dangerous realm._

Rosie stopped in her tracks, breaking off in the middle of her sentence.

"Rosie?" Piper asked, looking confused.

"Guys!" Jason exclaimed, looking down at his feet.

Rosie looked down at her own, her stomach dropping as her feet began to sink.

Suddenly, a loud boom came from the _Argo II_.

"Seriously?!" That could only be Leo.

The three of them ran onto the ship. A hatch in the deck was open, and they climbed down into it. Leo was underneath an engine, pounding it with a wrench.

Rosie squatted down next to him. "Leo?"

"Stupid-shit-"

"Leo," Jason asked, squatting down. "What's going on?"

"We're not leaving today, that's what's going on!" He grumbled angrily.

"You realize it's the solstice," Piper said to him. "We're supposed to leave today."

"I know that!" Leo kept whacking the engines. "Could be the fizzrockets. Could be the samophlange. Could be Gaea messing with us again. I don't know!"

"How long?" Rosie asked, dreading the answer.

"Two, Maybe three days?"

"We may not have that long," Piper said in a warning tone, shaking her head.

"I know, beauty queen," Leo sighed. "But we're not going anywhere."

"Guys?" Annabeth's voice was overhead.

Leo groaned. "Can someone break it to the scary blonde girl?"

Piper looked at Rosie. "Come on."

Piper and Rosie went back onto the deck, where Annabeth and Hedge were waiting for them.

"What are we waiting for?" Hedge asked, aggravated. "Let's get this battle on the road!"

"Not a battle, Coach," Annabeth reminded him. "Piper, Rosie, what's going on?"

"Something with the engine," Piper explained. "We're not going anywhere."

Annabeth cursed loudly. "Seriously?" She asked.

"Sorry," Piper apologized. "We'll be here another two or three days."

"Leo will fix it," Rosie promised Annabeth.

Annabeth gave Rosie an annoyed look. "He better," she said, walking away, Hedge following her trail.

"She's stressed," Piper said to Rosie. "That's all. She misses Percy."

"Right," Rosie said tightly.

Piper placed a hand on Rosie's arm. "He's going to love you."

Rosie wiggled out of Piper's grasp. "I don't need him to love me," she said. "I don't even need him to like me. All he has to do is tolerate me."

That's all she planned on doing with him.

* * *

It was two nights later, and Piper was in Rosie's cabin, staring at the wall silently.

They were told to be ready at any minute's notice, for they were about to head for Camp Jupiter.

"There's someone at camp that Jason knows- a girl named Reyna," Piper brought up quietly. It was the first thing she had said in a few minutes.

"Yeah," Rosie said. "I heard. You're...you're okay?"

Piper shrugged. "It's in his past...I hate feeling like I'm competing with his past, but sometimes...I am."

Rosie placed a hand on Piper's shoulder.

"I'm afraid he's going to get there and suddenly want to be that Jason again," she said.

"He won't," Rosie said confidently.

Piper's charmspeaking had improved over the last six months- it was crazy how good she was at it. But whenever she dwelled too much on Jason and his past...it diminished her. Took away the strength she had.

"Sometimes I can't get the prophecy out of my head," Rosie admitted aloud to her.

_Eight half-bloods shall answer the call,_

_To storm or fire the world must fall._

_An oath to keep with a final breath,_

_And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death._

That wasn't the only thing in her head. She thought of Hera's words: _You have a choice, Rosemary: destroy yourself or destroy your friends._

Gaea's words: _Two Poseidon children will go on the quest. Only one will come out._

"Yeah," Piper admitted, staring at her dagger with a stormy look. "Me too."

The door opened, and Annabeth appeared.

"It's time," she said to them in a solemn tone.

The two of them followed Annabeth into the woods, where the glorious _Argo II _was waiting for them. She had to admit- the ship was amazing. It was Leo's masterpiece, the best thing he had created.

Rosie stopped short when she saw Jason, stifling a laugh. He was wearing a toga and a purple cloak over his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt.

"Not a word," he muttered tiredly as he got on board.

Leo appeared, bouncing on his heels excitedly. He was holding a Wii controller in his head. "We good to go?"

"Should be," Annabeth answered. "Where's Coach?"

"Here!" Coach said, hustling over. "Had to get my club."

Annabeth grimaced. "Er, right." She turned to Leo. "Do the scroll now. Let them know we're coming."

"Aye, aye captain!" Leo exclaimed, running off.

Rosie leaned against the railing of the ship, watching everyone scramble around.

_Nowhere is safe_.

She sighed, running a hand through her brunette waves.

What if they failed? What if _she _failed_? _She wasn't Percy, some all-powerful demigod who everyone loved. She was Rosie- goofy, unserious, the girl who occasionally accidentally destroyed everything.

"Hey Guys?" Leo called out. "What's my title? Am I like admiral, or captain, or-"

"Repair boy," Piper answered, rolling her eyes.

She wasn't meant to be on this quest. She couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that she wasn't going to come out of it alive.

"You ready for this?" Jason asked her.

She wasn't. But she had to be.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm ready."

**A/N: as of this chapter, this fanfic is complete! i want to take a second to thank anyone who has followed this story, whether it be reading or reviewing or favoriting! it seriously means alot.**

**i do have plans to continue this story. I will be taking a break, but please keep your eyes peeled for the next part if you are interested in reading it! to leave you, I do have a title for the next part. Here's a few clues, in case you wanted to guess: 1) its another alliteration title (different letter) and is made up of two words: one that has to do with the earth/earthquakes/nature and one word that Jason mentioned in one of the recent chapters. any guesses? **

**thank you all! see you later!**


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